MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC decreased its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,119 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,486 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $15,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 492 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of MSCI by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,044 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in MSCI by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 575 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Down 0.7 %

MSCI stock opened at $565.72 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a twelve month low of $439.95 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.93 billion, a PE ratio of 40.24, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $579.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $588.55.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $3.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSCI has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is owned by 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.