Findlay Park Partners LLP Sells 3,500 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Findlay Park Partners LLP lessened its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 195,800 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP owned 0.26% of MSCI worth $111,099,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MSCI by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,777,749 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,008,745,000 after purchasing an additional 109,287 shares in the last quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. increased its position in shares of MSCI by 103.6% during the third quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 14,958 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,490,000 after buying an additional 7,613 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 37.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,228 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,938,000 after buying an additional 3,346 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 12.6% in the third quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 209,831 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $119,060,000 after acquiring an additional 23,500 shares during the period. Finally, Katamaran Capital LLP boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 57.1% in the third quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP now owns 4,919 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,791,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Trading Down 0.3%

MSCI opened at $570.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.39, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $572.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $565.28. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $486.73 and a 12-month high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.18 EPS. MSCI’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is 52.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 10,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $536.13 per share, with a total value of $5,473,887.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,487,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,250,508.11. This trade represents a 0.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 19,300 shares of company stock worth $10,261,957. 3.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $690.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $671.78.

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.