MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Purchased by K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc

Key Points

• K.J. Harrison & Partners increased its MSCI stake by 239.8% in Q4 to 5,484 shares valued at $3.15M, and institutional investors/hedge funds now own about 89.97% of the stock.
• Insider activity: CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 800 shares (~$415K) on Feb 17, while insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares on Apr 24 (~$5.92M), trimming his ownership by ~29.8%.
• Company results and payout: MSCI beat quarterly EPS and revenue expectations (EPS $4.55; revenue $850.8M, +14.1% YoY), announced a quarterly dividend of $2.05 (1.4% yield), and carries an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $692.70 target.

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc grew its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 239.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,484 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,870 shares during the quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc's holdings in MSCI were worth $3,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSCI. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 91.8% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 691,554 shares of the technology company's stock worth $392,395,000 after acquiring an additional 331,040 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 36.0% in 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 boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 10.3% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,394,117 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,358,446,000 after acquiring an additional 223,784 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $518.95 per share, with a total value of $415,160.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,493,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $775,231,900.65. This trade represents a 0.05% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. The trade was a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSCI Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $581.45 on Thursday. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $501.08 and a 12-month high of $626.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.33 billion, a PE ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's fifty day moving average is $560.30 and its 200-day moving average is $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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.38 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $850.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $830.91 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 65.48% and a net margin of 40.74%.MSCI's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.00 EPS. Analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSCI. UBS Group upped their target price on MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MSCI from $545.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore raised their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered MSCI from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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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