MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Gulf International Bank UK Ltd

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd cut its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 26.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,578 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,686 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSCI. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 23.2% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 812 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 336.4% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 6.5% during the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 524 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at $556,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 8.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 894 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised MSCI from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $650.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $654.73.

MSCI Stock Up 3.1%

MSCI stock opened at $567.29 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $562.08 and its 200-day moving average is $562.09. The company has a market cap of $43.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI Inc has a twelve month low of $486.73 and a twelve month high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.12 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $772.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $763.06 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.13% and a net margin of 39.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 84 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $548.69 per share, with a total value of $46,089.96. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,279,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,296,314.19. This trade represents a 0.01% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

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.