MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Position Decreased by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 8.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,479 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 491 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in MSCI were worth $3,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors lifted its position 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 worth $972,111,000 after buying an additional 9,304 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,493,534 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $870,627,000 after purchasing an additional 37,340 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $504,855,000 after purchasing an additional 13,620 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 129.4% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 730,986 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $352,153,000 after purchasing an additional 412,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in MSCI by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 637,381 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $307,058,000 after purchasing an additional 25,497 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MSCI shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 price objective for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.83.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $593.86 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $631.70. The company has a market capitalization of $46.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $583.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $537.85.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.15 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. The company’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.02%.

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.