MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Diversify Wealth Management LLC

Diversify Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,098 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 68 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MSCI. LVW Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 1,460 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $876,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 3,902 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,341,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter worth $274,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 461 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,037 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $612.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MSCI shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $645.67.

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI opened at $612.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.98 billion, a PE ratio of 40.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $603.93 and a 200-day moving average of $575.23. MSCI Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $439.95 and a fifty-two week high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.15 million. MSCI had a net margin of 43.06% and a negative return on equity of 162.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 14.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 42.02%.

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.