MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Sold by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP cut its stake in MSCI by 22.1% in Q3, selling 8,500 shares and finishing the quarter with 29,940 shares valued at about $16.99 million.
• Several large institutions added or initiated positions in MSCI—Norges Bank opened a roughly $547 million stake, Mitsubishi UFJ increased holdings by 499.3% (adding 728,900 shares), and firms like Baillie Gifford and JPMorgan also boosted exposure, leaving institutional ownership near 89.97%.
• MSCI beat quarterly estimates (EPS $4.66 vs. $4.62) with revenue of $822.5M (up 10.6% YoY), raised its quarterly dividend to $2.05 ($8.20 annual, 1.5% yield), and carries a consensus analyst rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $671.78.

Korea Investment CORP decreased its position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,940 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 8,500 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in MSCI were worth $16,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSCI. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the second quarter worth approximately $547,348,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in MSCI by 499.3% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 874,882 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $496,417,000 after acquiring an additional 728,900 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in MSCI by 91.8% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 691,554 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $392,395,000 after acquiring an additional 331,040 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in MSCI by 36.0% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA bought a new position in MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at $145,986,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE MSCI opened at $549.87 on Wednesday. MSCI Inc has a one year low of $486.73 and a one year high of $626.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $570.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $565.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.40 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04. MSCI had a net margin of 38.36% and a negative return on equity of 82.59%. The firm had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.18 earnings per share. MSCI's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. MSCI's payout ratio is currently 52.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSCI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSCI from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group set a $638.00 price objective on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore lifted their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $671.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $247,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,901,450. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 800 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $518.95 per share, with a total value of $415,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,231,900.65. This trade represents a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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