Comerica Bank Reduces Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Comerica Bank cut its stake in MSCI by 54.9% in Q4, selling 15,767 shares and leaving it with 12,976 shares valued at $7.445 million.
• MSCI beat quarterly estimates with $4.55 EPS (vs. $4.38 expected) and $850.8M revenue (up 14.1%), and analysts remain largely bullish with a consensus "Buy" and a mean price target of $692.70 as several firms raised targets into the $690–$730 range.
• Company insiders have been selling (Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares), and MSCI announced a quarterly dividend of $2.05 ($8.20 annualized, 1.4% yield; ex-dividend May 15, payable May 29).

Comerica Bank lowered its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 54.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,976 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 15,767 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in MSCI were worth $7,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in MSCI by 7.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,133,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in MSCI by 39.0% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,724,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in MSCI by 20.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the technology company's stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in MSCI by 1.0% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 35,130 shares of the technology company's stock worth $20,261,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in MSCI during the second quarter worth $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Trading Up 0.4%

MSCI stock opened at $597.22 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $501.08 and a 12-month high of $626.28. The business's fifty day moving average price is $557.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $563.14.

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

MSCI Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. The trade was a 29.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 22,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,624,640. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $715.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $730.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore boosted their price objective on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One equities 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $692.70.

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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