MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Riverview Trust Co

Riverview Trust Co reduced its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 86 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 47 shares during the quarter. Riverview Trust Co’s holdings in MSCI were worth $50,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in MSCI by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,719,381 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,886,777,000 after buying an additional 36,043 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 0.5% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,734,519 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $972,111,000 after purchasing an additional 9,304 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in MSCI by 74.9% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,456,194 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $701,522,000 after purchasing an additional 623,712 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its holdings in MSCI by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 1,323,058 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $741,508,000 after purchasing an additional 23,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in MSCI by 1.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,047,960 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $504,855,000 after acquiring an additional 13,620 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE MSCI opened at $608.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.50, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $617.39. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $574.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $526.56.

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. MSCI had a net margin of 43.86% and a negative return on equity of 143.09%. The business had revenue of $707.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $696.41 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 14.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSCI. UBS Group lifted their target price on MSCI from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.23.

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.