Maple Capital Management Inc. Makes New $6.84 Million Investment in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Maple Capital Management initiated a new position in MSCI in Q4, purchasing 11,920 shares valued at approximately $6.84 million.
• MSCI beat the quarter, reporting EPS of $4.55 versus $4.38 expected and revenue of $850.8 million, up 14.1% year-over-year.
• Analysts' consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $692.70; the stock carries a $42.33 billion market cap, a P/E of ~33.2, and a $2.05 quarterly dividend (1.4% yield).

Maple Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 11,920 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $6,839,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aviso Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of MSCI by 2.0% during the third quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 859 shares of the technology company's stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 375 shares of the technology company's stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 568 shares of the technology company's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Keel Point LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 622 shares of the technology company's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in MSCI by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 509 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $700.00 target price for the company. Evercore raised their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MSCI from $545.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $692.70.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $581.45 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $42.33 billion, a PE ratio of 33.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $501.08 and a fifty-two week high of $626.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $560.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $564.07.

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

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. MSCI's payout ratio is 46.83%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 6,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $524.18 per share, with a total value of $3,145,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at $782,625,376.46. This trade represents a 0.40% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

About MSCI

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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