MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Stock Position Decreased by Dakota Wealth Management

Dakota Wealth Management cut its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,093 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RB Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Markel Corp raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 141,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $71,258,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 42.2% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,237 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,831 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $701,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $513.28 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $556.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $539.26. MSCI Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $451.55 and a fifty-two week high of $617.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The technology company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.39. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 111.17% and a net margin of 45.42%. The firm had revenue of $690.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $662.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSCI shares. Edward Jones started coverage on MSCI in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on MSCI from $659.00 to $648.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on MSCI from $544.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on MSCI in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $581.57.

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.