Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $4.02 Million Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 72.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,699 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,821 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in MSCI were worth $4,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 536,211 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $312,574,000 after buying an additional 23,050 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 657 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $220,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 807 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $205,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 289,787 shares in the company, valued at $160,133,398.33. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock traded up $4.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $568.66. 251,343 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 507,870. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $475.32 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The company has a market cap of $44.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.45, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33. The company's 50 day moving average price is $550.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $576.60.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.12. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. The company had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $746.45 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. MSCI's payout ratio is currently 49.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $645.36.

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.