MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) CFO Sells $252,000.00 in Stock

MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) CFO Andrew Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $252,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,624,640. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $556.02. 519,614 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 647,972. The company has a market cap of $40.85 billion, a PE ratio of 35.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $486.73 and a 52-week high of $626.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $567.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $564.52.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $822.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.51 million. MSCI had a net margin of 38.36% and a negative return on equity of 82.59%. MSCI’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.18 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 52.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 7,100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,074,000 after buying an additional 2,510 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in MSCI by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 740 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd grew its position in MSCI by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd now owns 15,150 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,692,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Midway Capital Research & Management purchased a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter worth $2,130,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on MSCI shares. Weiss Ratings lowered MSCI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $715.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded MSCI from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $710.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $674.00.

MSCI Company Profile

MSCI Inc is a global provider of investment decision support tools and services for the financial industry. The company is best known for its family of market indexes, which are widely used as benchmarks by asset managers and as the basis for exchange-traded funds and other passive products. In addition to index construction and licensing, MSCI offers portfolio analytics, risk models, factor and performance attribution tools, and a suite of data and technology solutions designed to support portfolio management and trading.

Beyond traditional indexing and risk analytics, MSCI has expanded into environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and ratings, offering data, scores and screening tools that help investors integrate sustainability considerations into investment processes.