Kentucky Retirement Systems Decreases Stock Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,006 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 322 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in MSCI were worth $3,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSCI. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in MSCI by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 63,594 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,972,000 after buying an additional 1,664 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 8,881 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,023,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $570,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 857 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 7,913 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,476,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Trading Up 0.4 %

MSCI traded up $2.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $540.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 439,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 578,947. MSCI Inc. has a twelve month low of $439.95 and a twelve month high of $617.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $495.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $524.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.10.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.55 by $0.09. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.09% and a net margin of 43.86%. The company had revenue of $707.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $696.41 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.26 earnings per share. MSCI’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 14.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSCI. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Argus raised their price objective on MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MSCI from $615.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.21.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other MSCI news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total transaction of $4,245,210.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,052,254.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

MSCI 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.