MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Position Trimmed by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 272,749 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 6,164 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.35% of MSCI worth $163,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in MSCI by 120.0% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in MSCI by 122.7% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in MSCI by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 113 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the 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 completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $729,599,549.01. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research raised shares of MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $647.31.

MSCI Stock Down 6.7 %

NYSE:MSCI opened at $507.57 on Monday. MSCI Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.95 and a 52-week high of $642.45. The firm has a market cap of $39.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.10, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $572.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $588.66.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company posted $3.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 51.21%.

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.