Bellwether Advisors LLC Has $6.08 Million Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

Key Points

• Bellwether Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in MSCI Inc by 12.1%, now holding 10,757 shares valued at approximately $6.08 million, making it the firm's 17th largest holding.
• MSCI reported a quarterly EPS of $4.17, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside revenues of $772.68 million, reflecting a 9.1% year-over-year growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share, equating to an annual dividend yield of 1.32% and a payout ratio of 47.68%.

Bellwether Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,757 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,477 shares during the period. MSCI makes up 1.3% of Bellwether Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Bellwether Advisors LLC's holdings in MSCI were worth $6,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MSCI. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 47,267 shares of the technology company's stock worth $26,729,000 after acquiring an additional 1,863 shares during the period. Texas Yale Capital Corp. lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 30,113 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $17,029,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 61,143 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,576,000 after buying an additional 2,847 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,752 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,556,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 917 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $519,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Trading Up 1.5%

MSCI stock traded up $8.53 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $567.68. The stock had a trading volume of 535,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 594,659. The stock has a market cap of $43.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.32. MSCI Inc has a 12 month low of $486.73 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $563.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $565.63.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.12 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $772.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.06 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.13% and a net margin of 39.46%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSCI news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total transaction of $2,762,950.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 289,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $160,133,398.33. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 84 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $548.69 per share, for a total transaction of $46,089.96. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,279,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,296,314.19. This trade represents a 0.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSCI has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America began coverage on MSCI in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $654.73.

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.