Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,640 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in MSCI during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in MSCI by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $589.57 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $631.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $586.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $541.98. The firm has a market cap of $46.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.15 million. MSCI had a net margin of 43.06% and a negative return on equity of 162.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSCI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $631.83.

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.