MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Down 8% – Time to Sell?

MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) shares traded down 8% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $520.30 and last traded at $514.4450. 735,306 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 24% from the average session volume of 590,786 shares. The stock had previously closed at $559.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore raised their price objective on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group set a $638.00 target price on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $659.00.

MSCI Stock Down 7.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $38.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $575.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $566.98.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04. The company 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 45.89%.

MSCI declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other MSCI news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total value of $348,454.08. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 15,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,904,006.90. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total transaction of $247,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,901,450. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 341.7% during the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

About MSCI

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.