Thematics Asset Management Trims Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Thematics Asset Management lowered its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,186 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,015 shares during the quarter. Thematics Asset Management's holdings in MSCI were worth $8,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in MSCI by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 180,156 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $108,096,000 after acquiring an additional 4,381 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,729,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 22,644 shares of the technology company's stock worth $13,587,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Natixis increased its position in MSCI by 105.7% during the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 55,184 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,111,000 after buying an additional 28,363 shares during the period. Finally, Ostrum Asset Management lifted its stake in MSCI by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Ostrum Asset Management now owns 1,872 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,123,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock traded down $3.28 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $530.13. 689,634 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 556,491. The stock has a market cap of $41.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.70, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $449.00 and a fifty-two week high of $642.45. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $556.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $584.59.

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

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MSCI shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America assumed coverage on MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $639.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $729,599,549.01. The trade was a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total value of $2,621,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 294,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $154,542,084.75. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

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.