Allstate Corp Has $3.20 Million Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Allstate Corp more than doubled its MSCI stake in the fourth quarter, boosting holdings by 102.2% to 5,582 shares valued at about $3.2 million.
• MSCI continues to attract strong institutional interest, with several large investors increasing positions and roughly 89.97% of the stock held by institutions and hedge funds.
• Analyst sentiment remains upbeat: the stock has an average "Buy" rating and a consensus price target of $697.70, while MSCI also recently beat quarterly earnings expectations and raised its dividend.

Allstate Corp increased its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 102.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,582 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,821 shares during the period. Allstate Corp's holdings in MSCI were worth $3,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in MSCI by 499.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 874,882 shares of the technology company's stock worth $496,417,000 after buying an additional 728,900 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in MSCI by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,069,180 shares of the technology company's stock worth $606,674,000 after buying an additional 282,859 shares in the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its position in MSCI by 103.3% during the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 523,035 shares of the technology company's stock worth $300,081,000 after buying an additional 265,750 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 10.3% in 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. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in MSCI by 1.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,674,093 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,489,177,000 after buying an additional 165,851 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total value of $5,920,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. This represents a 29.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSCI from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $655.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $697.70.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $602.95 on Thursday. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $501.08 and a 52 week high of $626.28. The firm has a market cap of $43.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.24. The firm'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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.38 by $0.17. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 65.48%. The business had revenue of $850.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $830.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.00 EPS. MSCI's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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