Hantz Financial Services Inc. Trims Stock Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Hantz Financial Services cut its MSCI stake by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,547 shares and ending with 24,874 shares valued at about $14.27 million.
• Despite that trim, institutional ownership remains very high, with 89.97% of MSCI shares held by institutional investors and hedge funds. Several large firms, including Vanguard and JPMorgan, also reported sizable positions.
• MSCI reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.55 versus $4.38 expected and revenue up 14.1% year over year. Analysts remain broadly positive, giving the stock a consensus Buy rating and a target price of $692.70.

Hantz Financial Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,874 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 4,547 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in MSCI were worth $14,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 499.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 874,882 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $496,417,000 after buying an additional 728,900 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in MSCI by 36.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,069,180 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $606,674,000 after acquiring an additional 282,859 shares in the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its holdings in MSCI by 103.3% in the fourth quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 523,035 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $300,081,000 after acquiring an additional 265,750 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its position in MSCI by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,394,117 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,358,446,000 after purchasing an additional 223,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in MSCI by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,674,093 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,489,177,000 after purchasing an additional 165,851 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSCI. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $655.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $545.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $730.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America initiated coverage on MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded MSCI from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $692.70.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $588.97 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $564.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $565.98. MSCI Inc has a one year low of $501.08 and a one year high of $626.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.64, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $850.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $830.91 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.00 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. MSCI's payout ratio is 46.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total value of $5,920,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. This represents a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,544 shares in the company, valued at $12,624,640. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Company 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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