Cwm LLC Raises Position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 202.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,507 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,713 shares during the quarter. CWM LLC's holdings in MSCI were worth $8,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth about $210,000. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in MSCI by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 623 shares of the technology company's stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in MSCI by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,123 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in MSCI by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,391 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $296,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $651.55.

MSCI Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of MSCI stock traded down $2.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $577.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 584,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 510,589. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $486.74 and a 12-month high of $642.45. The company has a market capitalization of $44.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $566.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $568.17.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $746.45 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 145.52% and a net margin of 39.08%. Research analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total value of $2,762,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 289,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,133,398.33. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.