Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Purchases Shares of 2,697 MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in MSCI, buying 2,697 shares worth about $1.55 million.
• MSCI posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.55 versus $4.38 expected and revenue up 14.1% year over year to $850.8 million.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average target price of $692.70.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,697 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,547,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 341.7% in the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. This trade represents a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $775,231,900.65. The trade was a 0.05% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $584.68 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $42.56 billion, a PE ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $501.08 and a 12-month high of $626.28. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $561.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $564.44.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.38 by $0.17. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 65.48%. The business had revenue of $850.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $830.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.00 earnings per share. MSCI's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America assumed 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $545.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MSCI from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $692.70.

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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