MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Stock Position Cut by Meeder Advisory Services Inc.

by · The Markets Daily

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI – Free Report) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,642 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in MSCI by 2.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,493,534 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $870,627,000 after purchasing an additional 37,340 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new position in MSCI during the third quarter valued at about $401,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 2.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,645 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,621,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in MSCI by 176.2% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. lifted its holdings in MSCI by 150.4% in the 3rd quarter. Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. now owns 1,670 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $973,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $543.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.24 billion, a PE ratio of 38.69, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $574.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $588.59. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 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 in the previous year, the company posted $3.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $649.23.

Get Our Latest Report on MSCI

About MSCI

(Free Report)

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.

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