Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 499 Shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 13.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,201 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 499 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in MSCI were worth $1,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSCI. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its position in MSCI by 293.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its position in MSCI by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in MSCI during the first quarter valued at $44,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of MSCI stock traded down $2.62 on Friday, hitting $577.56. The stock had a trading volume of 584,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 510,181. MSCI Inc has a twelve month low of $486.74 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The business's 50 day moving average is $566.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $567.95. The stock has a market cap of $44.69 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.12. The business 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 145.52% and a net margin of 39.08%. As a group, equities analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 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 $160,133,398.33. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSCI has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MSCI from $530.00 to $578.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $651.55.

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.