MSCI Inc $MSCI Position Lessened by BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.

Key Points

• BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. significantly reduced its position in MSCI Inc by 54.8%, selling 42,576 shares and now owns 35,158 shares worth approximately $19.85 million.
• MSCI reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.17, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $772.68 million, indicating a year-over-year increase of 9.1%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share, with a yield of 1.3%, which will be paid to shareholders on August 29.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. reduced its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 54.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,158 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 42,576 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.'s holdings in MSCI were worth $19,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in MSCI by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,376,852 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,302,610,000 after purchasing an additional 518,833 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 0.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,626,923 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $920,026,000 after buying an additional 13,918 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,008,778 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $570,464,000 after purchasing an additional 19,846 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in MSCI by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 804,640 shares of the technology company's stock worth $455,024,000 after buying an additional 20,150 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in MSCI by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 615,770 shares of the technology company's stock worth $348,218,000 after purchasing an additional 47,936 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $556.92 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $561.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $560.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI Inc has a 1 year low of $486.73 and a 1 year high of $642.45.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.12 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $772.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $763.06 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.13% and a net margin of 39.46%. MSCI's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given 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 payout ratio is 47.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Raymond James Financial raised shares of MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $654.73.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 84 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $548.69 per share, for a total transaction of $46,089.96. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,279,951 shares in the company, valued at $702,296,314.19. This represents a 0.01% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 12,400 shares of company stock worth $6,731,599. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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