MSCI Inc $MSCI Stock Position Reduced by Fox Run Management L.L.C.

Key Points

• Fox Run Management L.L.C. reduced its stake in MSCI Inc by 39.3% to 1,670 shares, worth approximately $944,000 at the end of the first quarter.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price for MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 while rating the stock as "overweight," indicating positive analyst sentiment.
• MSCI recently reported earnings of $4.17 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and marking a 9.1% revenue increase from the previous year.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. lessened its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 39.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,670 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,079 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C.'s holdings in MSCI were worth $944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in MSCI by 23.2% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 812 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in MSCI by 336.4% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its position in MSCI by 6.5% during the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 524 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth about $556,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 8.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 894 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE MSCI traded up $3.86 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $572.02. 284,222 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 604,579. MSCI Inc has a 1-year low of $486.73 and a 1-year high of $642.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $562.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $560.54. The company has a market cap of $44.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.29.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.12 by $0.05. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.13% and a net margin of 39.46%.The company had revenue of $772.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $763.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. MSCI's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 9,916 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $544.70 per share, with a total value of $5,401,245.20. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,279,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $697,143,554.90. This represents a 0.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 12,400 shares of company stock worth $6,731,599. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSCI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial upgraded MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $654.73.

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.