MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Sold by Groupe la Francaise

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise significantly reduced its stake in MSCI Inc by 97.9% in the first quarter, leaving it with only 8,436 shares after selling 394,788 shares.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in MSCI, with Vanguard Group boosting its stake by 5.9%, and Bank Julius Baer raising its stake by an astonishing 605,802.9%.
• MSCI's CEO, Henry A. Fernandez, acquired 9,916 shares at an average cost of $544.70 each, increasing his ownership stake in the company.

Groupe la Francaise lessened its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 97.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,436 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 394,788 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in MSCI were worth $4,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MSCI by 136.4% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 52 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in MSCI by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 66 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MSCI by 293.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of MSCI stock traded down $0.96 during trading on Thursday, hitting $569.20. 479,128 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 599,504. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $486.73 and a fifty-two week high of $642.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $564.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $560.24.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. MSCI's payout ratio is currently 47.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 9,916 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $544.70 per share, for a total transaction of $5,401,245.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,279,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $697,143,554.90. This trade represents a 0.78% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders purchased 12,400 shares of company stock worth $6,731,599. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $654.73.

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.