Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 1,546 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,654 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $8,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aviso Financial Inc. increased its stake in MSCI by 2.0% in the third quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 859 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 375 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 568 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Keel Point LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 3.0% during the third quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 622 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,074 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $616.28 on Monday. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $501.08 and a fifty-two week high of $644.68. The stock has a market cap of $44.87 billion, a PE ratio of 35.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $578.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $568.93.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.38 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $850.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $830.91 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 65.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 46.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSCI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSCI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of MSCI from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $650.00 to $700.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $697.70.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other MSCI news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total value of $5,920,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at $13,941,357.92. The trade was a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,624,640. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.