Progressive Investment Management Corp Sells 316 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Progressive Investment Management Corp trimmed its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,041 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 316 shares during the quarter. MSCI accounts for about 2.5% of Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings in MSCI were worth $9,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSCI. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in MSCI by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,493,534 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $870,627,000 after acquiring an additional 37,340 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 32.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 107 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 35.1% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the third quarter worth $210,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in MSCI by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 51,116 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,797,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Trading Down 1.4 %

MSCI stock opened at $558.03 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $578.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $588.55. The company has a market capitalization of $43.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is 51.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MSCI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $649.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 directly owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.