Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Decreases Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management cut its stake in MSCI by 23.1% in Q4, selling 11,692 shares and leaving it with 38,947 shares worth about $22.35 million (roughly 0.05% of the company).
• Wall Street is largely bullish on MSCI with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $692.70; the company also beat Q1 estimates with $4.55 EPS versus $4.38 expected and $850.8M in revenue versus $830.9M.
• Notable insider activity and capital returns: Alvise Munari sold 10,000 shares while CEO Henry Fernandez purchased 6,000 shares, and MSCI announced a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share (annualized $8.20, yield 1.4%).

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,947 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 11,692 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned approximately 0.05% of MSCI worth $22,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at $20,454,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 568 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of MSCI by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,106 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of MSCI by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 512 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of MSCI by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 26,973 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $15,475,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised MSCI from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore lifted their price objective on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSCI presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $692.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 23,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. The trade was a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $524.18 per share, with a total value of $3,145,080.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at $782,625,376.46. This represents a 0.40% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $589.11 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $558.72 and a 200 day moving average of $563.34. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $501.08 and a fifty-two week high of $626.28. The firm has a market cap of $42.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $850.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $830.91 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 65.48% and a net margin of 40.74%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. MSCI's payout ratio is presently 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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