Bank of Nova Scotia Takes Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia acquired 55,552 MSCI shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $31.1 million and representing about 0.08% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 89.97% of MSCI.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $709.50; several firms recently raised their targets despite Wells Fargo trimming its estimate.
• MSCI reported second-quarter EPS of $4.94, slightly below estimates, while revenue rose 12.2% year over year to $867 million. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, equivalent to a 1.5% annualized yield.

Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 55,552 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $31,111,000. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.08% of MSCI at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,062,626,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $528,560,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $480,613,000. Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $301,493,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in MSCI during the second quarter worth about $234,905,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSCI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $742.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $690.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $715.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $709.50.

MSCI Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $564.08 on Monday. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $501.08 and a 12-month high of $644.77. The stock has a market cap of $41.01 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $582.30 and a 200-day moving average of $573.19.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $4.94 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 analyst estimates of $870.71 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 55.19%. MSCI's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.17 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 19.61 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 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.86%.

About MSCI

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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