MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Diversify Wealth Management LLC

Diversify Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,098 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 68 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 120.0% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the third quarter worth $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSCI. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.67.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $612.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE:MSCI opened at $612.25 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.95 and a 12-month high of $642.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $603.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $575.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released 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. The business 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.02%.

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.