Callahan Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 5,990 MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Callahan Advisors LLC opened a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter, buying 5,990 shares worth about $3.44 million.
• MSCI reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.55 versus $4.38 expected and revenue of $850.8 million, up 14.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain bullish on the stock: several firms reiterated buy/outperform ratings, and the consensus price target is $692.70, above the recent trading price of $583.07.

Callahan Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,990 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $3,437,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at $514,000. ABN Amro Investment Solutions acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at $1,671,000. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,374 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,147 shares during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at $2,248,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 28,475 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $16,337,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MSCI. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $715.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $730.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore lifted their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $692.70.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $583.07 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $42.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $562.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $565.96. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $501.08 and a 52 week high of $626.28.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSCI news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total transaction of $5,920,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,941,357.92. This represents a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $252,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,624,640. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Company 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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