Progressive Investment Management Corp Sells 316 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Progressive Investment Management Corp lowered its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,041 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 316 shares during the period. MSCI comprises about 2.5% of Progressive Investment Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings in MSCI were worth $9,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter worth $609,937,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in MSCI in the 4th quarter worth $185,003,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at $126,082,000. Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in MSCI by 700.4% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 186,131 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $111,680,000 after purchasing an additional 162,877 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter worth about $82,722,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

MSCI Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:MSCI opened at $558.03 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $578.82 and its 200 day moving average is $588.55. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The company has a market capitalization of $43.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19.

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

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.21%.

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.