Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 1,844 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,564 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,844 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $91,748,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 52.4% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 3,779 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the 1st quarter valued at $778,000. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 207.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,657,000 after buying an additional 1,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 455.8% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 5,614 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,146,000 after purchasing an additional 4,604 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of MSCI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $680.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $690.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $631.83.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI traded down $12.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $593.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 524,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 542,413. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $631.70. The firm has a market cap of $46.54 billion, a PE ratio of 39.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.11. The company's 50-day moving average is $582.94 and its 200-day moving average is $536.53.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.09. MSCI had a net margin of 43.06% and a negative return on equity of 162.06%. The firm had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $716.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.02%.

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.