MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) CFO Andrew Wiechmann Sells 450 Shares of Company Stock

MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) CFO Andrew Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.00, for a total transaction of $256,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,644 shares in the company, valued at $12,337,080. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE:MSCI opened at $561.01 on Thursday. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $501.08 and a 52 week high of $644.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $558.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $575.03. The firm has a market cap of $40.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $4.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.99 by ($0.05). MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 55.19%. The business had revenue of $867.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $870.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 19.57 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $685.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $615.00 price objective on MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on MSCI from $730.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on MSCI from $715.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $701.17.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSCI. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the second quarter worth $3,062,626,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter worth $1,798,710,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,446,291 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $829,781,000 after purchasing an additional 168,405 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in MSCI in the second quarter valued at $480,613,000. Finally, Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in MSCI in the second quarter valued at $301,493,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target to $685 from $700 but maintained an Overweight rating, implying substantial upside from recent levels. JPMorgan MSCI price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also reduced its target, to $662 from $700, while retaining an Overweight rating. The continued bullish ratings suggest analysts view the recent weakness as an opportunity, despite more conservative target prices. Morgan Stanley MSCI price target update
• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks preview said MSCI has factors that could support an earnings beat in its upcoming report, providing a near-term catalyst. However, the company’s latest quarterly results slightly missed consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue, making execution important. MSCI earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: MSCI is scheduled to announce quarterly earnings, putting the stock in a wait-and-see position as investors assess revenue growth, recurring subscription trends, margins and management guidance. MSCI earnings announcement preview
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Andrew Wiechmann sold 450 shares for approximately $256,500 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Because the sale was scheduled and represented only about 2% of his direct holdings, it is a limited signal rather than a clear change in management’s outlook. MSCI CFO insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted MSCI’s underperformance versus major equity benchmarks and noted that its valuation depends heavily on continued growth in index, analytics and data-related businesses. This may temper enthusiasm ahead of earnings. MSCI economic moat analysis

About MSCI

MSCI Inc is a global provider of investment decision-support tools and services for institutional investors, asset managers, banks, wealth managers and other financial professionals. The company is best known for its equity, fixed-income and multi-asset-class indexes, which are used as benchmarks and as the basis for investment products such as exchange-traded funds and other index-linked strategies.

In addition to indexes, MSCI provides portfolio analytics, risk-management and performance-measurement tools designed to help clients evaluate exposures, construct portfolios and manage investment risks.