Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $20.86 Million Stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 32.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,776 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 17,499 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in MSCI were worth $20,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter worth about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its position in MSCI by 35.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $581.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 678,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 544,694. The firm's 50-day moving average is $585.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $540.70. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $631.70. The company has a market cap of $45.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.17, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $716.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $631.83.

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.