Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 1,159 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 11.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,806 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,159 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $5,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Canoe Financial LP grew its position in MSCI by 12.6% during the third quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 209,831 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $119,060,000 after buying an additional 23,500 shares in the last quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,806,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 961,843 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $545,759,000 after acquiring an additional 71,720 shares during the period. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 158.9% during the 2nd quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd now owns 4,971 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,774,000 after purchasing an additional 3,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, waypoint wealth counsel bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the second quarter valued at approximately $355,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total value of $348,454.08. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 15,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,904,006.90. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $247,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $594.58 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $569.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $565.16. The company has a market cap of $44.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $486.73 and a 12-month high of $634.99.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.37 by $0.10. MSCI had a net margin of 40.03% and a negative return on equity of 110.94%. The firm had revenue of $793.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $794.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 28th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MSCI shares. Barclays raised their target price on MSCI from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded MSCI to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MSCI from $570.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on MSCI from $588.00 to $611.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $650.13.

MSCI Profile

MSCI Inc is a global provider of investment decision support tools and services for the financial industry. The company is best known for its family of market indexes, which are widely used as benchmarks by asset managers and as the basis for exchange-traded funds and other passive products. In addition to index construction and licensing, MSCI offers portfolio analytics, risk models, factor and performance attribution tools, and a suite of data and technology solutions designed to support portfolio management and trading.

Beyond traditional indexing and risk analytics, MSCI has expanded into environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and ratings, offering data, scores and screening tools that help investors integrate sustainability considerations into investment processes.