AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 2,807 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 668.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,227 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,807 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 341.7% during the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of MSCI from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $650.00 to $700.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America began coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore lifted their target price on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $697.70.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

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

MSCI Trading Up 2.5%

MSCI opened at $602.95 on Thursday. MSCI Inc has a 1-year low of $501.08 and a 1-year high of $626.28. The company has a market cap of $43.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $567.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $566.38.

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

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.83%.

About MSCI

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.