MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Sold by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio reduced its MSCI stake by 18.1% in Q4, selling 3,554 shares to hold 16,044 shares valued at $9.205 million; institutional investors own about 89.97% of the company.
• Insider activity: Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares at ~$592.04 (≈$5.92M), cutting his stake by 29.8%, while CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 6,000 shares at $524.18 and now owns 1,493,047 shares.
• Financials and outlook: MSCI beat Q expectations with EPS $4.55 vs $4.38 and revenue $850.8M (up 14.1% YoY), announced a $2.05 quarterly dividend (1.4% yield), and carries a consensus analyst target near $692.70.

Strs Ohio lessened its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,044 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 3,554 shares during the period. Strs Ohio's holdings in MSCI were worth $9,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at $20,454,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 568 shares of the technology company's stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,106 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,782,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 512 shares of the technology company's stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 26,973 shares of the technology company's stock worth $15,475,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other MSCI news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total value of $5,920,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. This trade represents a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $524.18 per share, with a total value of $3,145,080.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,493,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at $782,625,376.46. This represents a 0.40% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE MSCI opened at $582.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $501.08 and a 52-week high of $626.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $558.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $563.51.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $4.38 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $850.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $830.91 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 65.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSCI. Evercore increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $700.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSCI from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSCI has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $692.70.

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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