MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Position Decreased by Clarus Wealth Advisors

Clarus Wealth Advisors decreased its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 72.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 379 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 998 shares during the period. Clarus Wealth Advisors’ holdings in MSCI were worth $202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in MSCI during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. American National Bank lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 1,300.0% in the fourth quarter. American National Bank now owns 70 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit acquired 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $459.41 per share, for a total transaction of $3,445,575.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 291,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,705,767.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $465.92 per share, for a total transaction of $6,056,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 327,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,579,015.68. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit purchased 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $459.41 per share, for a total transaction of $3,445,575.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 291,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,705,767.58. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $486.32 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $617.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $487.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $532.00. The company has a market cap of $38.53 billion, a PE ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.11.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. MSCI’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MSCI. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of MSCI from $671.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $526.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 13th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.53.

About MSCI

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.