Advisors Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,500 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $4,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in MSCI in the second quarter worth $36,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in MSCI by 100.0% in the third 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 position in MSCI in the third quarter valued at $50,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 15,945 shares in the company, valued at $8,904,006.90. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 acquired at an average cost of $536.13 per share, with a total value of $5,473,887.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,487,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,250,508.11. This trade represents a 0.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSCI. Weiss Ratings cut MSCI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $715.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $659.00.

MSCI News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha highlights a 13.9% dividend increase and continued double-digit growth outlook for MSCI, a direct positive for income and total-return investors. MSCI: 13.9% Dividend Hike And Double-Digit Growth
• Positive Sentiment: MSCI-driven index additions in major markets (example: Aditya Birla Capital and L&T Finance added to MSCI Global Standard Index) are expected to trigger sizable passive flows into the included stocks, underscoring the commercial importance of MSCI’s index decisions and supporting its recurring-fee franchise. Birla Capital, L&T Finance enter MSCI Index
• Positive Sentiment: MSCI’s increased exposure to Chinese tech in recent revamps (and resulting market moves) illustrates the firm’s influence on global flows and index composition, which can sustain demand for MSCI’s index products and data services. China Stocks Climb as MSCI Boosts Exposure
• Positive Sentiment: Ongoing trend of adding crypto-related and microcap names to MSCI indexes (examples reported this week) demonstrates expanding coverage breadth and keeps MSCI at the center of passive rebalances — a structural tailwind for its indexing and data business. Another crypto firm joins MicroStrategy in MSCI index
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts note MSCI inclusions tend to spur foreign investor interest into affected markets — a market dynamic that benefits index users and validates MSCI’s market impact, but doesn’t directly change MSCI’s revenue mix in the short term. MSCI inclusions to spur foreign interest – analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly/annual commentary (Baron Fund note and coverage summaries) describes MSCI as holding steady amid macro and market challenges — supportive context but not a near-term stock mover on its own. MSCI (MSCI) Held Steady Amid Challenges
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/political friction surfaced after an MSCI “freeze” prompted government attention (Indonesia example), which can create short-term volatility in affected markets and raises governance/public-relations risk around index actions. Luhut Preps Recommendations to Improve Market After MSCI Freeze

MSCI Trading Up 0.8%

MSCI stock opened at $526.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.54, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $573.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $565.89. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $486.73 and a 12-month high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 82.59% and a net margin of 38.36%.The company had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $819.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.18 earnings per share. MSCI’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is 45.89%.

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.