Trillium Asset Management LLC Sells 1,724 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Trillium Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,709 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,724 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC's holdings in MSCI were worth $11,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in MSCI by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in MSCI in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in MSCI by 35.1% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in MSCI by 122.7% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Trading Down 0.5 %

MSCI traded down $3.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $562.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 822,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 529,429. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.04, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $642.45. The stock's 50-day moving average is $581.93 and its 200-day moving average is $588.65.

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MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. This is a boost from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSCI. 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 report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSCI from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $649.23.

About MSCI

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.