MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Acquired by Katamaran Capital LLP

Katamaran Capital LLP boosted its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 57.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,919 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,788 shares during the quarter. MSCI makes up approximately 2.5% of Katamaran Capital LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Katamaran Capital LLP’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,508,242 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,483,783,000 after acquiring an additional 131,390 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in MSCI by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,281,311 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,892,463,000 after purchasing an additional 45,547 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its stake in MSCI by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,170,333 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,251,718,000 after purchasing an additional 98,680 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in MSCI by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,993,524 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,146,298,000 after purchasing an additional 34,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 6.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,777,749 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,008,745,000 after purchasing an additional 109,287 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total transaction of $348,454.08. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 15,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,904,006.90. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 2,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $536.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,227,829.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 335,069 shares in the company, valued at $179,653,945.73. This represents a 0.69% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $560.26 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $486.73 and a 52 week high of $626.28. The stock has a market cap of $42.10 billion, a PE ratio of 35.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $575.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $566.98.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04. MSCI had a net margin of 38.36% and a negative return on equity of 82.59%. The company had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $819.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.18 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

MSCI Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Weiss Ratings raised MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $659.00.

MSCI Company 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.