Cibc World Markets Corp Sells 2,866 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Cibc World Markets Corp lowered its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,373 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,866 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in MSCI were worth $7,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Edgewood Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 16.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in MSCI in the 4th quarter worth about $185,003,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $126,082,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 14.3% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP lifted its holdings in MSCI by 700.4% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 186,131 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $111,680,000 after acquiring an additional 162,877 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $568.48 on Wednesday. MSCI Inc. has a twelve month low of $439.95 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The firm has a market cap of $44.14 billion, a PE ratio of 40.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $583.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $588.95.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $3.68 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 51.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSCI has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of 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 note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

About MSCI

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.