MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Position Trimmed by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 41.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,564 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,844 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSCI. Intellectus Partners LLC lifted its holdings in MSCI by 53.2% in the third quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $927,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,311,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in MSCI by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 49,456 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,829,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 2,516 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,467,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Trading Down 0.7 %

MSCI opened at $606.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $582.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $536.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.50 billion, a PE ratio of 39.80, a PEG ratio of 3.17 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.09. MSCI had a net margin of 43.06% and a negative return on equity of 162.06%. The company had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. MSCI’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on MSCI shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.83.

About MSCI

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.