Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 70,568 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia cut its MSCI stake by 87.2% in the first quarter, selling 70,568 shares and retaining 10,356 shares valued at approximately $5.58 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.97% of MSCI.
• MSCI’s latest quarterly results slightly missed expectations, with earnings of $4.94 per share versus a $4.99 consensus and revenue of $867 million versus $870.71 million expected. Revenue nevertheless increased 12.2% year over year.
• MSCI declared a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, equivalent to an annualized $8.20 and a 1.4% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $709.50.

Bank of Nova Scotia decreased its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 87.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,356 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 70,568 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in MSCI were worth $5,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 341.7% during the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $572.29 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $41.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $501.08 and a fifty-two week high of $644.77. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $596.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $576.64.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $867.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $870.71 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 55.19% and a net margin of 40.74%.The business's revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 19.58 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is 44.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $690.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Evercore set a $722.00 target price on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on MSCI from $730.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $655.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $690.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $709.50.

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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