Flossbach Von Storch SE Trims Holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

Flossbach Von Storch SE trimmed its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 26.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 215,599 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 78,373 shares during the quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE owned about 0.28% of MSCI worth $121,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the first quarter worth $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in MSCI by 293.8% during the fourth 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. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in MSCI by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in MSCI during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MSCI from $530.00 to $578.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $651.55.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock traded up $2.16 on Thursday, reaching $583.97. 92,251 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 540,412. The company has a 50 day moving average of $563.79 and a 200 day moving average of $569.76. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $486.73 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.18 billion, a PE ratio of 40.13, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.32.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.12. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 145.52% and a net margin of 39.08%. The business had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $746.45 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total value of $2,762,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 289,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $160,133,398.33. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

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.