Fox Run Management L.L.C. Makes New Investment in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Fox Run Management opened a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter, buying 4,112 shares worth about $2.36 million. The stake makes MSCI the fund’s 15th largest holding and about 0.4% of its portfolio.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their MSCI holdings, and roughly 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutions. Meanwhile, insider selling included a notable 10,000-share sale by Alvise J. Munari and a smaller sale by CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann.
• Analysts remain upbeat on MSCI, with multiple firms raising or reiterating targets and the consensus rating staying at Buy with a price target of about $697.70. The company also beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while paying a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,112 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,359,000. MSCI accounts for 0.4% of Fox Run Management L.L.C.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSCI. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the technology company's stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 35,130 shares of the technology company's stock worth $20,261,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth $88,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total transaction of $5,920,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at $13,941,357.92. This represents a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were 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 represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSCI. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $730.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSCI from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $697.70.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $602.98 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $501.08 and a 52-week high of $644.68. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $579.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $569.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $850.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $830.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.00 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given 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 1.4%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.83%.

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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