Fifth Third Bancorp Acquires 12,576 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in MSCI by 404.9% in the first quarter, buying 12,576 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 15,682 shares valued at about $8.45 million.
• MSCI reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.55 versus the $4.38 consensus and revenue of $850.8 million, up 14.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly optimistic on the stock, with an average Buy rating and a consensus price target of about $709.27, while shares recently traded around $621.92.

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 404.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,682 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 12,576 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in MSCI were worth $8,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in MSCI by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 375 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in MSCI by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 568 shares of the technology company's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Keel Point LLC raised its holdings in MSCI by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 622 shares of the technology company's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,074 shares of the technology company's stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 830 shares of the technology company's stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of MSCI opened at $621.92 on Thursday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $595.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $576.17. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $501.08 and a 52 week high of $644.68. The stock has a market cap of $45.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.24.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $850.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $830.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.00 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 19.84 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $690.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on MSCI from $730.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings cut MSCI from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on MSCI from $715.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $709.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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