MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC

Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC reduced its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,957 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 95 shares during the quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $4,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in MSCI by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 35.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Up 0.4 %

MSCI stock opened at $612.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $603.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $575.23. MSCI Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.95 and a 52-week high of $642.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.15 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.45 EPS. Research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSCI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $612.80 per share, with a total value of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.