MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Sold by Polen Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Polen Capital Management cut its MSCI stake by 16% in the fourth quarter, selling 252,854 shares and leaving it with 1,331,085 shares valued at about $763.7 million.
• MSCI reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.55 versus $4.38 expected and revenue of $850.8 million, up 14.1% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share.
• Despite some insider selling and a 2.2% drop in trading, analysts remain upbeat on MSCI, with an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $697.70.

Polen Capital Management LLC lowered its position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,331,085 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 252,854 shares during the period. MSCI comprises approximately 3.3% of Polen Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Polen Capital Management LLC owned about 1.81% of MSCI worth $763,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 341.7% in the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Trading Down 2.2%

MSCI stock opened at $595.06 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $583.70 and a 200-day moving average of $570.17. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $501.08 and a 12-month high of $644.68. The company has a market cap of $43.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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 period last year, the firm earned $4.00 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. MSCI's payout ratio is currently 46.83%.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at $13,941,357.92. The trade was a 29.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $252,000.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSCI from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of MSCI from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $650.00 to $700.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $730.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $697.70.

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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