MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Logan Capital Management Inc.

Logan Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,637 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 44 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $6,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSCI. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in MSCI by 74.9% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,456,194 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $701,522,000 after purchasing an additional 623,712 shares during the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 16.9% in the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,195,639 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,279,904,000 after purchasing an additional 318,214 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 14.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,587,723 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $925,531,000 after buying an additional 198,666 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 358.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 133,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $77,900,000 after buying an additional 104,474 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,101,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE MSCI traded down $6.48 on Friday, hitting $629.51. 17,848 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 533,796. MSCI Inc. has a twelve month low of $439.95 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $599.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $553.33.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. MSCI’s payout ratio is 42.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSCI. Barclays boosted their price target on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.58.

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.