MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Monumental Financial Group Inc.

Monumental Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,313 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. MSCI comprises 0.8% of Monumental Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Monumental Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 348.7% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 341 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 4.5% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 669 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 3.2% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 41,052 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $21,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 25.3% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 545 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the third quarter worth about $832,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI traded up $13.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $477.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,040,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 758,208. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $617.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $541.71 and its 200-day moving average is $538.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.06.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $680.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.47 million. MSCI had a net margin of 44.55% and a negative return on equity of 121.86%. The company’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.14 EPS. Analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 14.59 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.69%.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $465.92 per share, for a total transaction of $6,056,960.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 327,479 shares in the company, valued at $152,579,015.68. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Cd Baer Pettit bought 7,500 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $459.41 per share, for a total transaction of $3,445,575.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 291,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,705,767.58. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 13,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $465.92 per share, with a total value of $6,056,960.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 327,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $152,579,015.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $530.00 to $425.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $620.00 to $470.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $562.87.

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.