Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 2,969 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its stake in MSCI by 1.1% in Q3, selling 2,969 shares and now owns 269,842 shares (about 0.36% of the company, valued at $153.1 million).
• MSCI beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $4.66 vs. $4.62 and revenue of $822.5 million (up 10.6% YoY), and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $2.05 (annualized $8.20, ~1.5% yield).
• Brokerages maintain a generally positive view—MarketBeat shows a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target of $671.78—while CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 800 shares and insiders now own about 3.31% of the stock.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 269,842 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,969 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.36% of MSCI worth $153,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in MSCI during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of MSCI by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $549.87 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $570.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $565.36. The firm has a market cap of $40.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI Inc has a 12 month low of $486.73 and a 12 month high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $822.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.51 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 82.59% and a net margin of 38.36%.MSCI's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.18 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. MSCI's payout ratio is presently 52.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSCI. UBS Group set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $690.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $671.78.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $518.95 per share, with a total value of $415,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,493,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,231,900.65. This trade represents a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total transaction of $247,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at $11,901,450. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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