Cambridge Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Cambridge Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,458 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 527 shares during the period. MSCI accounts for 3.5% of Cambridge Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Cambridge Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $7,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSCI. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 5,600.0% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 57 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in MSCI by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Trading Down 0.1 %

MSCI traded down $0.66 on Friday, hitting $467.04. 826,479 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 922,270. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $532.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $536.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.00 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.09. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $680.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.47 million. MSCI had a net margin of 44.55% and a negative return on equity of 121.86%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 14.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on MSCI from $615.00 to $526.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on MSCI from $671.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MSCI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $569.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $465.92 per share, with a total value of $6,056,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 327,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,579,015.68. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 13,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $465.92 per share, with a total value of $6,056,960.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 327,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,579,015.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total transaction of $4,245,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,831 shares in the company, valued at $6,052,254.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.