Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Has $18.59 Million Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 30,488 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 27 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $18,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSCI. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in MSCI by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in MSCI in the third quarter worth $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the third quarter worth $40,000. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 35.1% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised 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 valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE MSCI opened at $572.78 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $601.53 and its 200-day moving average is $586.26. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $642.45. The firm has a market cap of $44.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $612.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 330,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research raised shares of MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.23.

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.