Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 3,619 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Nomura Asset Management cut its MSCI stake by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,619 shares and leaving it with 53,483 shares worth about $30.7 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with MSCI carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $697.70 after several firms raised targets or reiterated bullish ratings.
• MSCI’s recent results were strong: the company beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 1.3%.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,483 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 3,619 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of MSCI worth $30,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSCI. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in MSCI by 7.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in MSCI by 39.0% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,724,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in MSCI by 20.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in MSCI by 1.0% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 35,130 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $20,261,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in MSCI during the second quarter valued at $88,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSCI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSCI from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. 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 target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $730.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment 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, MSCI has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $697.70.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $5,920,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. This represents a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,624,640. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $643.49 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc has a 1 year low of $501.08 and a 1 year high of $644.68. The firm's 50-day moving average is $571.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $567.47. The stock has a market cap of $46.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.75, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $830.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.00 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders 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 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.83%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.