Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Sells 12,376 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Marks Group Wealth Management reduced its MSCI stake by 56% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,376 shares and leaving it with 9,728 shares worth about $5.58 million.
• Insider selling was also noted, including a 10,000-share sale by Alvise J. Munari and a 450-share sale by CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann, while insiders still own 3.76% of the company.
• MSCI’s fundamentals and analyst sentiment remain strong: the company beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, raised its dividend to a $1.4% yield, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Buy” with an average target of $697.70.

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc cut its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 56.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,728 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 12,376 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc's holdings in MSCI were worth $5,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 7.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 39.0% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,724,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 20.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the technology company's stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 1.0% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 35,130 shares of the technology company's stock worth $20,261,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the second quarter worth approximately $88,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total value of $5,920,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,941,357.92. This trade represents a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,624,640. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSCI from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $730.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of MSCI from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $650.00 to $700.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $697.70.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $602.98 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $501.08 and a 52-week high of $644.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.24. The company's 50 day moving average price is $579.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $569.26.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.38 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $850.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $830.91 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 65.48% and a net margin of 40.74%.MSCI's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.83%.

MSCI 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.

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