Natixis Advisors LLC Has $35.09 Million Position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in MSCI Inc by 14.3%, owning a total of $35.09 million in the company after selling 10,350 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional investors hold a significant ownership, accounting for 89.97% of MSCI's stock, with several new positions being established by various financial firms.
• MSCI announced a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.3%, with the payment scheduled for August 29th.

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,048 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 10,350 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of MSCI worth $35,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 136.4% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 52 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 66 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 293.8% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other MSCI news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 289,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $160,133,398.33. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 9,916 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $697,143,554.90. This trade represents a 0.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599 over the last quarter. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MSCI. Evercore ISI cut their price target on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $654.73.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $561.06 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $563.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $565.49. The company has a market cap of $43.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.32. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $763.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. MSCI's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.68%.

About MSCI

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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