Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Trims Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Envestnet Portfolio Solutions cut its MSCI position by 82.9% in the second quarter, leaving it with 654 shares valued at approximately $366,000. Institutional investors collectively own 89.97% of MSCI.
• MSCI reported quarterly revenue of $867 million, up 12.2% year over year, but earnings of $4.94 per share fell short of analysts’ $4.99 estimate.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $709.08 versus the stock’s reported price of $545.35. MSCI also pays a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, yielding about 1.5% annually.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lessened its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 82.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 654 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 3,174 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in MSCI were worth $366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,062,626,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,798,710,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in MSCI by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,446,291 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $829,781,000 after purchasing an additional 168,405 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in MSCI in the second quarter valued at approximately $480,613,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 737,063 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $422,875,000 after purchasing an additional 89,399 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $545.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $561.47 and a 200 day moving average of $574.42. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $501.08 and a 52 week high of $644.77.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $4.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.99 by ($0.05). MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 55.19%. The company had revenue of $867.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $870.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.17 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. MSCI's payout ratio is currently 44.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore set a $722.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MSCI from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $615.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $709.08.

MSCI Company Profile

MSCI Inc is a global provider of investment decision-support tools and services for institutional investors, asset managers, banks, wealth managers and other financial professionals. The company is best known for its equity, fixed-income and multi-asset-class indexes, which are used as benchmarks and as the basis for investment products such as exchange-traded funds and other index-linked strategies.

In addition to indexes, MSCI provides portfolio analytics, risk-management and performance-measurement tools designed to help clients evaluate exposures, construct portfolios and manage investment risks.

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