Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Cuts Stake in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in MSCI Inc by 27.6% during the second quarter, now owning 9,965 shares valued at approximately $5.86 million.
• MSCI Inc recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.3%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for MSCI, with a price target averaging $652.45.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 27.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,965 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 3,797 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in MSCI were worth $5,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,376,852 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,302,610,000 after acquiring an additional 518,833 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,626,923 shares of the technology company's stock worth $920,026,000 after acquiring an additional 13,918 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 19,846 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised 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 buying an additional 20,150 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised 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 buying an additional 515,713 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Trading Down 0.6%

MSCI stock opened at $565.56 on Thursday. MSCI Inc has a twelve month low of $486.73 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The company has a market capitalization of $43.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.45, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $562.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $559.00.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $772.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $763.06 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.64 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of MSCI from $625.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $652.45.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 9,916 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 1,279,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $697,143,554.90. This trade represents a 0.78% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders acquired 12,400 shares of company stock worth $6,731,599 in the last quarter. 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.

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