Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Reduces Stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,235 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 38 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSCI. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in MSCI by 120.0% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in MSCI by 35.1% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE:MSCI opened at $565.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. MSCI Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $439.95 and a fifty-two week high of $642.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $579.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $588.55.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 51.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSCI shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $649.23.

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.