BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Boosts Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 30.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,000 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 936 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in MSCI during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the third quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 2,290 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $536.17 per share, with a total value of $1,227,829.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 335,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $179,653,945.73. This represents a 0.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,901,450. This trade represents 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.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $556.97 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $575.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $566.62. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $486.73 and a 52-week high of $626.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.29.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.04. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 82.59% and a net margin of 38.36%.The business had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, October 28th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $690.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Evercore lifted their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $659.00.

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.