Czech National Bank Boosts Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• The Czech National Bank has increased its stake in MSCI Inc by 6.0%, now owning 18,912 shares worth approximately $10.9 million.
• MSCI recently reported earnings of $4.17 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues up 9.1% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of about 47.68%.

Czech National Bank raised its position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 6.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,912 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in MSCI were worth $10,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in MSCI by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 7,694 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,617,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,843,000. Waverly Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 477,034 shares of the technology company's stock worth $286,225,000 after acquiring an additional 76,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Street Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 470 shares of the technology company's stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 84 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $548.69 per share, with a total value of $46,089.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,279,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,296,314.19. The trade was a 0.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have acquired 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599 over the last three months. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MSCI Stock Up 0.7%

MSCI traded up $4.05 on Friday, reaching $560.03. The company had a trading volume of 1,237,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 669,603. MSCI Inc has a 1 year low of $486.73 and a 1 year high of $642.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.32 billion, a PE ratio of 37.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $562.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $558.98.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.12 by $0.05. MSCI had a net margin of 39.46% and a negative return on equity of 143.13%. The firm had revenue of $772.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $763.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. MSCI's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. MSCI's payout ratio is 47.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on MSCI shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $625.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $652.45.

MSCI Profile

MSCI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides critical decision support tools and solutions for the investment community to manage investment processes worldwide. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed financial product, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, and over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct.