MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Sold by Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,029 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 231 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the first quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in MSCI by 136.4% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 52 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. acquired a new position in MSCI during the second quarter worth $35,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in MSCI by 50.0% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 66 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA lifted its stake in MSCI by 355.6% during the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 82 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI stock opened at $588.17 on Monday. MSCI Inc has a 1-year low of $486.73 and a 1-year high of $642.45. The stock has a market cap of $45.50 billion, a PE ratio of 37.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $561.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $560.55.

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

MSCI announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 purchase up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded MSCI to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on MSCI from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial upgraded MSCI from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $655.90.

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.