Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $105.36 Million Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. cut its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 186,269 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,640 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.24% of MSCI worth $105,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the third quarter worth $26,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 5,600.0% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 57 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the third quarter worth $30,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the third quarter valued at $38,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE MSCI opened at $513.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $556.83 and a 200-day moving average of $539.26. The stock has a market cap of $40.66 billion, a PE ratio of 35.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06. MSCI Inc. has a 52-week low of $451.55 and a 52-week high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The technology company reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $690.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $662.64 million. MSCI had a net margin of 45.42% and a negative return on equity of 111.17%. MSCI’s quarterly revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.84 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSCI shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Edward Jones started coverage on shares of MSCI in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of MSCI from $544.00 to $617.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of MSCI from $600.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $581.57.

About MSCI

MSCI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides critical decision support tools and solutions for the investment community to manage investment processes worldwide. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed financial product, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, and over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct.