Investment Management Corp of Ontario Decreases Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario reduced its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,719 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. MSCI accounts for approximately 0.8% of Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in MSCI were worth $23,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its position in MSCI by 293.8% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake in MSCI by 122.6% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $556.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.56, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33. MSCI Inc. has a twelve month low of $475.32 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $548.96 and a 200 day moving average of $579.73.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $645.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. The trade was a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total value of $2,621,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 294,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,542,084.75. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.