Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group Purchases Shares of 11,170 MSCI Inc $MSCI

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group acquired a new position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 11,170 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,338,000. MSCI accounts for approximately 3.7% of Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the second quarter worth $547,348,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 91.8% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth about $175,912,000. Banque Pictet & Cie SA purchased a new position in MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at about $145,986,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in MSCI by 27.7% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 786,321 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $453,513,000 after acquiring an additional 170,551 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI traded up $24.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $606.36. 104,916 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 386,249. MSCI Inc has a twelve month low of $486.73 and a twelve month high of $618.19. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $570.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $565.28. The company has a market cap of $45.56 billion, a PE ratio of 38.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $822.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $819.51 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.03% and a negative return on equity of 110.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.18 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total transaction of $348,454.08. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 15,945 shares in the company, valued at $8,904,006.90. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total transaction of $247,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,901,450. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MSCI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of MSCI to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $690.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on MSCI from $588.00 to $611.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on MSCI from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $650.13.

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.