Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Lowers Stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd cut its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 63.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,157 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 12,617 shares during the period. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings in MSCI were worth $4,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,192,364 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,860,925,000 after purchasing an additional 11,351 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,862,362 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,082,594,000 after buying an additional 13,691 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in MSCI by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,613,005 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $967,820,000 after buying an additional 119,471 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp grew its position in MSCI by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 1,148,615 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $689,180,000 after acquiring an additional 49,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 569,374 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $341,630,000 after acquiring an additional 84,354 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $566.72 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $581.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $588.73.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the company earned $3.68 EPS. Analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.23.

MSCI 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.