Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 16.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 227,260 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 45,489 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.29% of MSCI worth $128,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in MSCI by 293.8% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in MSCI by 122.6% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI traded down $15.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $565.12. The company had a trading volume of 635,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 508,791. The company has a market capitalization of $43.72 billion, a PE ratio of 38.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $564.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $569.30. MSCI Inc has a one year low of $486.74 and a one year high of $642.45.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price target for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $651.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSCI news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of MSCI 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

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.