MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA trimmed its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 38.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,974 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,874 shares during the quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's holdings in MSCI were worth $1,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in MSCI by 293.8% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in MSCI in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in MSCI by 122.6% during 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. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 147.2% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 89 shares of the technology company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Trading Down 2.4%

MSCI stock traded down $13.23 on Friday, hitting $541.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 465,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 507,619. The stock has a market cap of $41.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $552.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $575.77. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $475.32 and a 1 year high of $642.45.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. MSCI's payout ratio is currently 49.48%.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 289,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $160,133,398.33. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSCI shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on MSCI in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $645.36.

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.