Bowie Capital Management LLC Buys 10,296 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Bowie Capital Management LLC increased its stake in MSCI by 5.3%, buying 10,296 shares to hold 205,048 shares (about 0.27% of MSCI) valued at roughly $116.35 million, making MSCI its 9th largest position (~5.1% of Bowie’s holdings).
• Insider activity: CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 800 shares at $518.95 while CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares at $550, leaving corporate insiders owning about 3.31% of the company.
• Dividend and results: MSCI raised its quarterly dividend to $2.05 (annualized $8.20, yield 1.4%) and recently reported an earnings beat with $4.66 EPS and $822.5M revenue, while analysts maintain a consensus target near $671.78 with a majority rating of Buy.

Bowie Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 5.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 205,048 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,296 shares during the quarter. MSCI makes up approximately 5.1% of Bowie Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Bowie Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.27% of MSCI worth $116,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in MSCI in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $518.95 per share, for a total transaction of $415,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $775,231,900.65. This trade represents a 0.05% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $247,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at $11,901,450. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $569.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI Inc has a 1 year low of $486.73 and a 1 year high of $626.28. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $571.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $565.61.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $822.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.51 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 82.59% and a net margin of 38.36%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. MSCI's payout ratio is presently 52.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $715.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $690.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $671.78.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSCI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report).

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.