QRG Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

QRG Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 49.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,437 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,421 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,719,381 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,886,777,000 after purchasing an additional 36,043 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 0.5% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 74.9% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,456,194 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $701,522,000 after purchasing an additional 623,712 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in MSCI by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,047,960 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $504,855,000 after buying an additional 13,620 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $594.00 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $580.58 and a 200 day moving average of $532.62. The firm has a market cap of $46.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.00, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $631.70.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. MSCI’s payout ratio is 42.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MSCI shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Argus upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.83.

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.