Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. Sells 2,403 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Bristol Gate Capital Partners trimmed its MSCI stake by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,403 shares and leaving it with 120,907 shares worth about $69.4 million.
• MSCI posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $4.55 per share on revenue of $850.8 million, both above analyst estimates and up 14.1% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $692.70.

Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,907 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,403 shares during the quarter. MSCI comprises about 4.0% of Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. owned about 0.16% of MSCI worth $69,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in MSCI by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 428 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in MSCI by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,697,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in MSCI by 247.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at $3,437,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at $514,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of MSCI opened at $588.97 on Friday. MSCI Inc has a twelve month low of $501.08 and a twelve month high of $626.28. The company has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $564.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $566.08.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Evercore upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $545.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSCI from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $692.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total value of $5,920,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. This represents a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,624,640. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

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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