Walter Public Investments Inc. Trims Stock Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Walter Public Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,631 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 4,639 shares during the quarter. MSCI accounts for approximately 2.0% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $11,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $499,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at $904,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 18.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 220 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in shares of MSCI by 17.2% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 239 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of MSCI opened at $607.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $48.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $571.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $525.64. MSCI Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.95 and a 12-month high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.55 by $0.09. MSCI had a net margin of 43.86% and a negative return on equity of 143.09%. The business had revenue of $707.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $696.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 14.8 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSCI. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on MSCI from $615.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.14.

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.