Synovus Financial Corp Cuts Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Synovus Financial Corp lowered its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,517 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 285 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in MSCI were worth $3,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in MSCI in the second quarter valued at $27,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in MSCI by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $625.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $599.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $554.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.99 billion, a PE ratio of 41.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.10. MSCI Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.95 and a 52-week high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.09. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. The company had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.15 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 42.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $612.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 330,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Wolfe Research raised shares of MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.58.

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.