Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Trims Stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

Key Points

• Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in MSCI Inc by 8.4% during the first quarter, now holding 13,022 shares worth approximately $7.37 million.
• MSCI reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.17, surpassing analysts' estimates, and a revenue increase of 9.1% year-over-year to $772.68 million.
• The company's quarterly dividend is set at $1.80 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 47.68%.

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,022 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,188 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC's holdings in MSCI were worth $7,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in MSCI by 136.4% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 52 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in MSCI by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 66 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its position in MSCI by 293.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE MSCI opened at $546.73 on Monday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $562.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $562.63. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $486.73 and a 52-week high of $642.45. The company has a market cap of $42.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.29.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.68%.

Insider Activity

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 9,916 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $544.70 per share, for a total transaction of $5,401,245.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,279,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $697,143,554.90. This trade represents a 0.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have purchased 12,400 shares of company stock worth $6,731,599 in the last 90 days. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $654.73.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.