MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Sold by Geode Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management trimmed its MSCI stake by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, but still held about 1.99 million shares worth roughly $1.14 billion at quarter-end.
• MSCI reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.55 versus estimates of $4.38 and revenue of $850.8 million, up 14.1% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, and Wall Street remains upbeat with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $697.70.

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,993,077 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 31,824 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.65% of MSCI worth $1,141,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSCI. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 499.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 874,882 shares of the technology company's stock worth $496,417,000 after buying an additional 728,900 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in MSCI by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,069,180 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $606,674,000 after purchasing an additional 282,859 shares during the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its holdings in MSCI by 103.3% in the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 523,035 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $300,081,000 after purchasing an additional 265,750 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its holdings in MSCI by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,394,117 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,358,446,000 after purchasing an additional 223,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MSCI by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,674,093 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,489,177,000 after purchasing an additional 165,851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,624,640. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $5,920,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE MSCI opened at $630.39 on Friday. MSCI Inc has a 12 month low of $501.08 and a 12 month high of $640.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $570.01 and a 200-day moving average of $567.12. The company has a market cap of $45.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $850.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $830.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.00 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $655.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $730.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $697.70.

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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