Axa S.A. Sells 31,707 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Axa S.A. cut its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 68.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,542 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 31,707 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $8,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in MSCI by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of MSCI by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 492 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in MSCI by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,044 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,227,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in MSCI by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 575 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,995,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $550.23 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $551.24 and its 200 day moving average is $580.93. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $468.43 and a 1-year high of $642.45. The company has a market cap of $42.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.13, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.12. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. The firm had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $746.45 million. On average, analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 294,787 shares in the company, valued at $154,542,084.75. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MSCI shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $645.36.

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.