CIBC Asset Management Inc Grows Stock Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• CIBC Asset Management increased its MSCI stake by 42.2% in the fourth quarter, adding 5,376 shares to bring its total holdings to 18,120 shares worth about $10.4 million.
• MSCI reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.55 versus the $4.38 consensus and revenue of $850.8 million, up 14.1% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share and has Wall Street support, with analysts assigning a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $697.70.

CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 42.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,120 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 5,376 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc's holdings in MSCI were worth $10,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 1.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,674,093 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,489,177,000 after buying an additional 165,851 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,320,761 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,884,233,000 after buying an additional 39,450 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 10.3% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,394,117 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,358,446,000 after buying an additional 223,784 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 36.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,069,180 shares of the technology company's stock worth $606,674,000 after buying an additional 282,859 shares during the period. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,000,942 shares of the technology company's stock worth $574,270,000 after buying an additional 39,099 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $616.28 on Friday. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $501.08 and a fifty-two week high of $644.68. The business's 50 day moving average price is $578.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $568.85. The company has a market capitalization of $44.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.38 by $0.17. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 65.48% and a net margin of 40.74%.The firm 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 business earned $4.00 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. MSCI's payout ratio is currently 46.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 value of $5,920,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 23,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,941,357.92. The trade was a 29.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the business'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 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $730.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded MSCI from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $697.70.

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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