MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Ascent Wealth Partners LLC

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,390 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 59 shares during the period. MSCI accounts for about 1.1% of Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $8,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,192,364 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,860,925,000 after acquiring an additional 11,351 shares during the period. Edgewood Management LLC raised its position in shares of MSCI by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,195,639 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,279,904,000 after buying an additional 318,214 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of MSCI by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,862,362 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,082,594,000 after buying an additional 13,691 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in MSCI by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,613,005 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $967,820,000 after purchasing an additional 119,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in MSCI by 14.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,587,723 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $925,531,000 after purchasing an additional 198,666 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $649.23.

MSCI Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $578.71 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $596.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $587.95. The firm has a market cap of $44.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.16, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.68 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $612.80 per share, with a total value of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at $202,456,251.20. The trade was a 0.89 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.