EP Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 432 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 51 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. American National Bank increased its stake in MSCI by 1,300.0% during the 4th quarter. American National Bank now owns 70 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its stake in MSCI by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 98 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $465.92 per share, with a total value of $6,056,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 327,479 shares in the company, valued at $152,579,015.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total transaction of $4,245,210.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,052,254.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $465.92 per share, for a total transaction of $6,056,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 327,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $152,579,015.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI opened at $482.79 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $617.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.25 billion, a PE ratio of 32.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $488.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $532.21.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $680.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.47 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 121.86% and a net margin of 44.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 14.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. MSCI’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSCI has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on MSCI from $615.00 to $526.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded MSCI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $613.00 to $569.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.53.

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.