MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Fortis Capital Management LLC

Fortis Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,076 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 588 shares during the quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $4,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,719,381 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,886,777,000 after purchasing an additional 36,043 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 0.5% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,734,519 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $972,111,000 after buying an additional 9,304 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in MSCI by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,493,534 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $870,627,000 after acquiring an additional 37,340 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in MSCI by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,047,960 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $504,855,000 after acquiring an additional 13,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in MSCI by 129.4% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 730,986 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $352,153,000 after acquiring an additional 412,389 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI stock opened at $610.53 on Thursday. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $631.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.85 billion, a PE ratio of 40.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $581.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $535.52.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 42.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSCI. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.83.

MSCI Company 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.