Ownership Capital B.V. Trims Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Ownership Capital B.V. trimmed its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 267,128 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 9,150 shares during the quarter. MSCI comprises 3.4% of Ownership Capital B.V.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Ownership Capital B.V. owned approximately 0.34% of MSCI worth $151,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 11,602 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,563,000 after purchasing an additional 3,075 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 35.4% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 688 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 4,801 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,716,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in MSCI by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 509 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI traded up $13.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $477.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,040,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 758,208. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $541.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $537.78. The stock has a market cap of $37.85 billion, a PE ratio of 32.61, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $680.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.47 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 121.86% and a net margin of 44.55%. The business’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 14.59 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSCI news, COO Cd Baer Pettit bought 7,500 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $459.41 per share, for a total transaction of $3,445,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 291,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,705,767.58. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $465.92 per share, for a total transaction of $6,056,960.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 327,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,579,015.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit purchased 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $459.41 per share, for a total transaction of $3,445,575.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 291,038 shares in the company, valued at $133,705,767.58. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut MSCI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $562.87.

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.