MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Capital International Investors

Capital International Investors trimmed its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 57.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 525,078 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 722,114 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned 0.67% of MSCI worth $315,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in MSCI by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised 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 acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in MSCI by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 117 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock traded up $2.85 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $536.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 252,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 586,159. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $556.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $584.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.16, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $458.69 and a 1 year high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $745.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $746.45 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. As a group, analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. MSCI's payout ratio is 51.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were purchased 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 directly owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. The trade was a 0.42 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total transaction of $2,621,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 294,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $154,542,084.75. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSCI shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on MSCI in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Three equities research 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 has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $639.00.

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.