MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Bought by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Magellan Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 341,787 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 36,776 shares during the quarter. MSCI makes up 2.3% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in MSCI were worth $193,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSCI. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in MSCI in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $550.05 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $572.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $565.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI Inc has a 12 month low of $486.73 and a 12 month high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.26%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSCI has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $690.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group set a $638.00 price target on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $671.78.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total transaction of $247,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,901,450. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 bought at an average price of $536.13 per share, with a total value of $5,473,887.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,487,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,250,508.11. The trade was a 0.69% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 19,300 shares of company stock valued at $10,261,957. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

MSCI 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.