CNB Bank Decreases Stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

CNB Bank decreased its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 848 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 49 shares during the period. CNB Bank’s holdings in MSCI were worth $509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,192,364 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,860,925,000 after buying an additional 11,351 shares in the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC boosted its holdings in MSCI by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,195,639 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,279,904,000 after acquiring an additional 318,214 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in MSCI by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,862,362 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,082,594,000 after acquiring an additional 13,691 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 14.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,587,723 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $925,531,000 after purchasing an additional 198,666 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 2.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,493,534 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $870,627,000 after purchasing an additional 37,340 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $610.79 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 40.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $642.45. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $602.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $572.89.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.15 million. MSCI had a net margin of 43.06% and a negative return on equity of 162.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 14.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Redburn Atlantic raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $645.67.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 2,900 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $612.80 per share, with a total value of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 330,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

About MSCI

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.