MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group cut its MSCI stake by 3.8% in the third quarter, selling 5,761 shares. It held 146,814 shares worth about $79.1 million after the sale.
• MSCI reported quarterly earnings of $5.11 per share, beating analysts’ $5.03 estimate, while revenue rose 12.4% year over year to $892 million.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $683.69. MSCI also announced a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,814 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 5,761 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of MSCI worth $79,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,062,626,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,798,710,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in MSCI during the 2nd quarter valued at $480,613,000. Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $301,493,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in MSCI during the second quarter worth about $257,687,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI opened at $640.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $45.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.92, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $570.03 and a 200 day moving average of $574.02. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $501.08 and a fifty-two week high of $644.77.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The technology company reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $892.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $887.83 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 50.69% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm's revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is 43.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MSCI from $685.00 to $720.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. UBS Group set a $615.00 price target on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $684.00 price target (down from $704.00) on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $683.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other news, General Counsel Robert Gutowski sold 2,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $623.66, for a total transaction of $1,484,934.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 14,104 shares in the company, valued at $8,796,100.64. This trade represents a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.00, for a total value of $256,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,337,080. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MSCI Profile

MSCI Inc NYSE: MSCI is a global provider of investment decision-support tools and services for institutional investors, asset managers, banks and other financial institutions. The company is best known for developing equity, fixed-income and multi-asset indexes used to benchmark portfolios and support the creation of investment products such as exchange-traded funds.

In addition to its indexes, MSCI provides portfolio analytics, risk-management and performance-attribution tools, as well as research and data covering environmental, social and governance factors, climate risk and sustainable investing.

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