MSCI Inc $MSCI Stock Holdings Lessened by EULAV Asset Management

EULAV Asset Management trimmed its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 185,976 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 14,996 shares during the period. MSCI makes up approximately 2.8% of EULAV Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. EULAV Asset Management owned approximately 0.25% of MSCI worth $106,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSCI. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 39.0% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,724,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 35,130 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,261,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth $88,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MSCI. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $730.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of MSCI from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $650.00 to $700.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $697.70.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $616.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $44.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.20, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI Inc has a 1 year low of $501.08 and a 1 year high of $644.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $578.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $568.85.

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

MSCI Dividend Announcement

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