23,767 Shares in MSCI Inc $MSCI Purchased by Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust

Key Points

• Retail Employees Superannuation Trust initiated a new position in MSCI, buying 23,767 shares worth about $13.6 million in the fourth quarter. The stake makes MSCI its 10th largest holding and about 3.7% of its portfolio.
• MSCI continues to draw strong Wall Street support, with several firms reiterating buy/overweight ratings and a consensus Buy rating. The average price target among analysts is $697.70.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $4.55 EPS on revenue of $850.8 million, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share to be paid May 29.

Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust bought a new position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 23,767 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $13,636,000. MSCI makes up approximately 3.7% of Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in MSCI by 341.7% during the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $715.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America assumed coverage on MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $697.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 23,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. This trade represents a 29.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,624,640. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $602.95 on Thursday. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $501.08 and a fifty-two week high of $626.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.89 billion, a PE ratio of 34.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $567.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $566.38.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.38 by $0.17. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 65.48% and a net margin of 40.74%.The business had revenue of $850.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $830.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.00 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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