MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 39.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,062 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 7,230 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in MSCI were worth $6,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 293.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake 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 buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This represents a 0.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the company'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 now owns 289,787 shares in the company, valued at $160,133,398.33. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI traded up $8.83 during trading on Thursday, hitting $575.41. The stock had a trading volume of 608,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 525,632. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.93, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33. MSCI Inc. has a twelve month low of $475.32 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The company's 50-day moving average price is $548.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $579.32.

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 analyst estimates of $746.45 million. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. As a group, equities analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. MSCI's payout ratio is 49.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their price target on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.