MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,970 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 36 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in MSCI were worth $2,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 98 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MSCI from $615.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded MSCI to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.00.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $555.31 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $547.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $521.93. The company has a market capitalization of $43.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.91, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.55 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $707.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $696.41 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.09% and a net margin of 43.86%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.26 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 14.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

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.