MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Position Decreased by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia has significantly reduced its shareholdings in MSCI Inc by 53.2%, selling 29,781 shares and now owning 26,193 shares worth approximately $14.8 million.
• Other institutional investors have substantially increased their positions in MSCI, with Bessemer Group growing its holdings by over 16,353.6% during the 4th quarter, now owning 587,557 shares.
• MSCI has seen a variety of research analysts set new price targets, with ratings ranging from "equal weight" to "outperform," and an average price target of $654.73.

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 53.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,193 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 29,781 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in MSCI were worth $14,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MSCI by 16,353.6% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 587,557 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $352,539,000 after buying an additional 583,986 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 61,179.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 505,557 shares of the technology company's stock worth $285,892,000 after acquiring an additional 504,732 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in MSCI by 3,881.3% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 419,429 shares of the technology company's stock worth $251,662,000 after purchasing an additional 408,894 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in MSCI by 605,802.9% in the first quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 212,066 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $129,903,000 after acquiring an additional 212,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at about $103,424,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MSCI shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $654.73.

MSCI Trading Down 1.8%

MSCI traded down $10.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $547.42. 1,064,861 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 998,048. The company has a market capitalization of $42.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $563.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $564.41. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $486.73 and a 52-week high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.12 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $772.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $763.06 million. MSCI had a net margin of 39.46% and a negative return on equity of 143.13%. The business's revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. MSCI's payout ratio is currently 47.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 9,916 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $544.70 per share, for a total transaction of $5,401,245.20. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,279,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $697,143,554.90. The trade was a 0.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased a total of 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

MSCI Company Profile

MSCI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides critical decision support tools and solutions for the investment community to manage investment processes worldwide. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed financial product, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, and over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct.