Flossbach Von Storch SE Reduces Stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Flossbach Von Storch SE lowered its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 293,972 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 33,100 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch SE’s holdings in MSCI were worth $176,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Edgewood Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 16.9% in the 3rd 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 lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 14.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 198,666 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 700.4% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 186,131 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $111,680,000 after purchasing an additional 162,877 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,613,005 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $967,820,000 after purchasing an additional 119,471 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 358.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 133,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $77,900,000 after purchasing an additional 104,474 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $574.18 on Thursday. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $642.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.84, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $599.50 and a 200 day moving average of $587.27.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.68 EPS. Analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 51.21%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 330,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their position. 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.23.

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.