Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 39.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,134 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 111,268 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.22% of MSCI worth $97,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in MSCI by 293.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in MSCI by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 66 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake in MSCI by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total value of $2,762,950.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 289,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $160,133,398.33. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSCI Trading Down 0.5%

MSCI traded down $2.62 on Friday, reaching $577.56. The stock had a trading volume of 584,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 510,181. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $486.74 and a 12-month high of $642.45. The business's 50-day moving average price is $566.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $567.95. The company has a market cap of $44.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.32.

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

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $530.00 to $578.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $651.55.

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.