ProVise Management Group LLC Sells 30 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

ProVise Management Group LLC reduced its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,234 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. American National Bank grew its holdings in 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 during the period. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 98 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MSCI traded down $2.66 on Friday, hitting $495.89. The company had a trading volume of 600,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 581,153. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $491.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $525.60. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $617.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.10.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.08. MSCI had a net margin of 44.55% and a negative return on equity of 121.86%. The firm had revenue of $680.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $685.47 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.69%.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other news, COO Cd Baer Pettit acquired 7,500 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $459.41 per share, for a total transaction of $3,445,575.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 291,038 shares in the company, valued at $133,705,767.58. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit purchased 7,500 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 directly owns 291,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,705,767.58. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSCI has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of MSCI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $613.00 to $569.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America raised shares of MSCI from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $425.00 to $525.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $485.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, May 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.86.

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.