MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $564.39 and traded as high as $585.27. MSCI shares last traded at $581.1080, with a volume of 228,729 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSCI. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $588.00 to $611.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays upped their price target on MSCI from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Seaport Res Ptn raised MSCI to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $642.63.

MSCI Trading Down 0.0%

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $565.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $564.32. The firm has a market cap of $43.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.83 and a beta of 1.30.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.63%.

MSCI announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, October 28th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 10,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $536.13 per share, for a total transaction of $5,473,887.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,487,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,250,508.11. The trade was a 0.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total transaction of $247,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSCI

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 7.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 39.0% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,724,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in MSCI by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 24,728 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,984,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new position in MSCI in the 1st quarter worth about $1,702,000. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter valued at about $280,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About MSCI

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.