MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp reduced its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,618 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 310 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in MSCI were worth $11,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its stake in MSCI by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 29,999 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $18,000,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,613,005 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $967,820,000 after acquiring an additional 119,471 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 256 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter worth $32,042,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,978 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $574.51 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $598.40 and a 200 day moving average of $587.18. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group lowered their price target on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $649.23.

MSCI Profile

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.