Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Has $2.60 Million Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lessened its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,326 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 78 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Edgewood Management LLC boosted its position in MSCI by 16.9% in the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,195,639 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,279,904,000 after buying an additional 318,214 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,587,723 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $925,531,000 after acquiring an additional 198,666 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP grew its position in MSCI by 700.4% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 186,131 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $111,680,000 after acquiring an additional 162,877 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in MSCI by 358.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 133,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $77,900,000 after purchasing an additional 104,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at $56,101,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE MSCI opened at $628.77 on Wednesday. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $605.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $580.53. The company has a market capitalization of $49.28 billion, a PE ratio of 41.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly 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 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 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, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 330,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MSCI shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.85.

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.