NewEdge Advisors LLC Sells 7,612 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• NewEdge Advisors LLC reduced its position in MSCI Inc by 64.2% in the first quarter, owning 4,238 shares valued at approximately $2.4 million after selling 7,612 shares.
• Analysts have mixed ratings with UBS raising their price target on MSCI to $700.00, while Wells Fargo lowered theirs to $533.00, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $652.45.
• MSCI announced a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.3%, with a payout ratio currently at 47.68%.

NewEdge Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 64.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,238 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 7,612 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in MSCI were worth $2,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in MSCI by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,376,852 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,302,610,000 after buying an additional 518,833 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 0.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,626,923 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $920,026,000 after acquiring an additional 13,918 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in MSCI by 2.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,008,778 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $570,464,000 after purchasing an additional 19,846 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in MSCI by 2.6% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 804,640 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $455,024,000 after purchasing an additional 20,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 355.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 660,690 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $365,976,000 after purchasing an additional 515,713 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 9,916 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $544.70 per share, with a total value of $5,401,245.20. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,279,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $697,143,554.90. This represents a 0.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 12,400 shares of company stock worth $6,731,599. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MSCI Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of MSCI stock traded down $2.71 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $582.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 722,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 562,666. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $486.73 and a fifty-two week high of $642.45. The company has a market capitalization of $45.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.59, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.34. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $563.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $559.44.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.12 by $0.05. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.13% and a net margin of 39.46%.The company had revenue of $772.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $763.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. MSCI's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. MSCI's payout ratio is presently 47.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MSCI from $625.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSCI currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $652.45.

MSCI 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.