MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Acquired by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 23.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 812 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in MSCI were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSCI. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of MSCI by 147.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 89 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 9,100.0% during the first quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 92 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of MSCI opened at $543.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $554.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $573.66. MSCI Inc has a twelve month low of $478.12 and a twelve month high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $746.45 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 145.52% and a net margin of 39.08%. Sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSCI news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total value of $2,621,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 294,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,542,084.75. This trade represents a 1.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays decreased their price objective on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.36.

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.