Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stock Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its MSCI position by 13.9% in the second quarter, selling 27,011 shares and retaining 167,847 shares worth approximately $94 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 89.97% of MSCI.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with MSCI holding an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $709.50. Recent targets ranged from $655 to $742.
• MSCI’s second-quarter revenue rose 12.2% year over year to $867 million, although EPS of $4.94 slightly missed estimates. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, representing a 1.5% yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 13.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 167,847 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 27,011 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.23% of MSCI worth $94,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 7.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in MSCI by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in MSCI by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the technology company's stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in MSCI by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 35,130 shares of the technology company's stock worth $20,261,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in MSCI during the 2nd quarter valued at about $88,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MSCI from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $655.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore set a $722.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $742.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $690.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $709.50.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $562.17 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $592.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $575.78. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $501.08 and a 52-week high of $644.77. The company has a market cap of $40.87 billion, a PE ratio of 30.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.23.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $4.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.99 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $867.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $870.71 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 55.19%. The business's revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. MSCI's payout ratio is presently 44.86%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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