AXQ Capital LP Purchases Shares of 2,188 MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• AXQ Capital LP opened a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter, buying 2,188 shares worth about $1.255 million.
• Several analysts remain bullish on MSCI, with firms like Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Wells Fargo raising targets or upgrading ratings. The stock currently carries a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $697.70.
• MSCI recently reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $4.55 versus the expected $4.38 and revenue of $850.8 million, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share.

AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,188 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,255,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 859 shares of the technology company's stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in MSCI by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 375 shares of the technology company's stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in MSCI by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 568 shares of the technology company's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Keel Point LLC lifted its stake in MSCI by 3.0% in the third quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 622 shares of the technology company's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in MSCI by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,074 shares of the technology company's stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on MSCI shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $730.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of MSCI from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $650.00 to $700.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $697.70.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other MSCI news, 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 value of $252,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,624,640. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. This trade represents a 29.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $643.49 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc has a 1 year low of $501.08 and a 1 year high of $644.68. The company's 50-day moving average is $571.76 and its 200 day moving average is $567.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.24.

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

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. 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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