Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Raises Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 36,996 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,510 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $20,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in MSCI in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at 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. increased its holdings in MSCI by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSCI shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $690.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $659.00.

MSCI Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:MSCI opened at $556.97 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $575.06 and its 200 day moving average is $566.86. MSCI Inc has a 12 month low of $486.73 and a 12 month high of $626.28. The company 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.51 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 82.59% and a net margin of 38.36%.The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.18 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 52.26%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total value of $348,454.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 10,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $536.13 per share, with a total value of $5,473,887.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,487,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,250,508.11. This represents a 0.69% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.