Flossbach Von Storch SE Decreases Stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Flossbach Von Storch SE lowered its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 293,972 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 33,100 shares during the quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE owned 0.38% of MSCI worth $176,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in MSCI by 120.0% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp grew its position in MSCI by 35.1% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $612.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 330,379 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MSCI Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MSCI traded up $4.36 on Friday, reaching $578.71. The company had a trading volume of 565,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 554,625. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.94 billion, a PE ratio of 41.16, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.95 and a 52-week high of $642.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $597.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $587.09.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share 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 prior year, the company earned $3.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.24%. This is an increase from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI's payout ratio is presently 51.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MSCI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $649.23.

MSCI Company 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.