Cumberland Partners Ltd Grows Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Cumberland Partners Ltd nearly doubled its stake in MSCI during the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 92.9% to 6,750 shares valued at about $3.87 million.
• MSCI reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $4.55 versus the $4.38 estimate and revenue of $850.8 million, up 14.1% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, while analysts remain broadly bullish with an average Buy rating and a consensus price target of $692.70.

Cumberland Partners Ltd lifted its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 92.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,750 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 3,250 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings in MSCI were worth $3,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in MSCI by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,777,749 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,008,745,000 after purchasing an additional 109,287 shares during the last quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 57.1% during the 3rd quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP now owns 4,919 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,791,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788 shares during the last quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 103.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 14,958 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,490,000 after acquiring an additional 7,613 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 37.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,228 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,938,000 after acquiring an additional 3,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,996 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $20,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares in the company, valued at $12,624,640. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI stock opened at $588.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.64, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI Inc has a 1 year low of $501.08 and a 1 year high of $626.28. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $564.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $566.08.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released 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 analysts' expectations of $830.91 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 65.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSCI. Evercore raised their price target on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSCI from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $692.70.

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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