Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,461 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $609,937,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $185,003,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $126,082,000. Canoe Financial LP increased its position in MSCI by 700.4% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 186,131 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $111,680,000 after buying an additional 162,877 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,722,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:MSCI opened at $558.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. MSCI Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.95 and a 12-month high of $642.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $578.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $588.55.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $3.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays dropped their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $649.23.

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.