Whittier Trust Co. Cuts Stock Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Whittier Trust Co. lowered its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 23.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 451 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 141 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in MSCI during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of MSCI by 35.1% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its position in shares of MSCI by 122.7% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

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

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI stock opened at $562.98 on Monday. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $642.45. The stock has a market cap of $43.72 billion, a PE ratio of 40.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $581.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $588.76.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 51.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSCI has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research raised shares of MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.23.

MSCI 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.