Two Sigma Advisers LP Has $255.30 Million Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Two Sigma Advisers LP lessened its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 425,500 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 57,800 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned 0.54% of MSCI worth $255,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSCI. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MSCI by 293.8% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in MSCI by 122.6% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in MSCI by 122.7% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in MSCI by 125.0% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 99 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MSCI traded up $3.47 during trading on Thursday, hitting $563.57. 435,576 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 519,402. The company has a market cap of $43.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $551.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $579.02. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $475.32 and a 52 week high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $746.45 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. On average, analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total transaction of $2,762,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSCI. Bank of America began coverage on MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays reduced their target price on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $645.36.

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.