MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP trimmed its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 425,500 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 57,800 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned 0.54% of MSCI worth $255,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in MSCI by 293.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 122.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSCI news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total transaction of $2,621,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 294,787 shares in the company, valued at $154,542,084.75. The trade was a 1.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $571.26 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $550.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $579.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.20 billion, a PE ratio of 40.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $475.32 and a one year high of $642.45.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $645.36.

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.