MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,717,364 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 60,385 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $985,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in MSCI by 499.3% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 874,882 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $496,417,000 after buying an additional 728,900 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in MSCI by 91.8% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 691,554 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $392,395,000 after buying an additional 331,040 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in MSCI by 36.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,069,180 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $606,674,000 after buying an additional 282,859 shares in the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its stake in MSCI by 103.3% during the fourth quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 523,035 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $300,081,000 after buying an additional 265,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in MSCI by 10.3% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,394,117 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,358,446,000 after buying an additional 223,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on MSCI shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $715.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MSCI from $545.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $692.70.

MSCI Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $582.04 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $558.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $563.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI Inc has a twelve month low of $501.08 and a twelve month high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 negative return on equity of 65.48% and a net margin of 40.74%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

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

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.