MSCI Inc $MSCI Stake Boosted by Meritage Group LP

Key Points

• Meritage Group LP boosted its MSCI stake by 33.4% to 415,308 shares—about $235.65 million—representing 0.55% of MSCI and 6.7% of Meritage's portfolio, while institutional investors hold roughly 89.97% of the company.
• MSCI beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $4.66 (vs. $4.62 expected) and revenue of $822.53M (up 10.6% YoY), and analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target of $671.78.
• Dividend and insider activity: MSCI raised its quarterly dividend to $2.05 (annualized $8.20, yield 1.5%), and CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 6,000 shares at about $524.18, indicating insider confidence.

Meritage Group LP increased its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 33.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 415,308 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 103,993 shares during the quarter. MSCI comprises 6.7% of Meritage Group LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Meritage Group LP owned about 0.55% of MSCI worth $235,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in MSCI by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,674,093 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,489,177,000 after purchasing an additional 165,851 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of MSCI by 1.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,281,311 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,892,463,000 after purchasing an additional 45,547 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in shares of MSCI by 4.8% in the second quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,170,333 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,251,718,000 after purchasing an additional 98,680 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 1.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,993,524 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,146,298,000 after purchasing an additional 34,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in MSCI by 6.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,777,749 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,008,745,000 after buying an additional 109,287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE:MSCI traded up $9.96 on Friday, reaching $546.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 79,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 649,946. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $486.73 and a 12-month high of $626.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $568.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $565.04. The firm has a market cap of $40.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.29.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $822.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $819.51 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 82.59% and a net margin of 38.36%.The company's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.18 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $2.05 dividend. This is a positive change from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. MSCI's payout ratio is presently 52.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $524.18 per share, with a total value of $3,145,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,493,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $782,625,376.46. This trade represents a 0.40% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore boosted their price objective on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group set a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $671.78.

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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