ING Groep NV Has $269,000 Stake in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• ING Groep NV sharply cut its MSCI position in the fourth quarter, selling 3,155 shares and reducing its stake by 87.1% to 468 shares worth about $269,000.
• MSCI posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, reporting EPS of $4.55 versus estimates of $4.38 and revenue of $850.8 million, up 14.1% year over year.
• Wall Street remains bullish on MSCI, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus "Buy" rating with an average target price of $697.70.

ING Groep NV reduced its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 87.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 468 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 3,155 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in MSCI were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 90,953 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $52,182,000 after buying an additional 1,222 shares during the period. Havemeyer Place LP acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth approximately $336,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its holdings in MSCI by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 14,510 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,325,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,052,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,624,640. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:MSCI opened at $608.98 on Thursday. MSCI Inc has a twelve month low of $501.08 and a twelve month high of $644.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $582.59 and a 200-day moving average of $569.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $830.91 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.00 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. MSCI's payout ratio is presently 46.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSCI. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of MSCI from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $650.00 to $700.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $730.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $697.70.

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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