MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,651 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 552 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in MSCI were worth $17,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in MSCI by 8.9% during the fourth 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 bought a new stake in MSCI during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,042,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in MSCI by 6.7% during the fourth 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. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in MSCI by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,462 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,077,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in MSCI during the fourth quarter worth approximately $226,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock traded up $4.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $578.71. 565,157 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 554,625. The business has a fifty day moving average of $597.17 and a 200 day moving average of $587.09. The firm has a market cap of $44.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.16, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.95 and a 12-month high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm posted $3.68 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.21%.

Insider Activity

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 2,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was purchased 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 owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group cut their target price on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.