ClearAlpha Technologies LP Lowers Stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

ClearAlpha Technologies LP lessened its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 551 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 66 shares during the period. ClearAlpha Technologies LP’s holdings in MSCI were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 85.4% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 799 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 172.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,083 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,091,000 after purchasing an additional 5,754 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 207.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the second quarter valued at approximately $495,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in MSCI by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 279 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE MSCI opened at $609.63 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $591.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $546.58. The company has a market capitalization of $47.78 billion, a PE ratio of 40.03, a P/E/G 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.09. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. The firm had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 42.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MSCI. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Redburn Atlantic raised 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.