Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in MSCI by 17.1% in Q4, selling 6,316 shares and leaving 30,680 shares valued at $17.6 million per its latest 13F filing.
• MSCI beat Q1 expectations with EPS $4.55 vs. $4.38 and revenue of $850.8 million (up 14.1% YoY), and the stock carries a consensus Buy rating with an average analyst target of $692.70.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share (annualized $8.20, ~1.4% yield) payable May 29, while insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares and insiders own about 3.76% amid roughly 90% institutional ownership.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,680 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 6,316 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in MSCI were worth $17,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in MSCI by 6.6% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. grew its stake in MSCI by 103.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 14,958 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,490,000 after buying an additional 7,613 shares during the last quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP grew its stake in MSCI by 57.1% during the 3rd quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP now owns 4,919 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,791,000 after buying an additional 1,788 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in MSCI by 37.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,228 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,938,000 after buying an additional 3,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd grew its stake in MSCI by 116.8% during the 4th quarter. PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd now owns 5,150 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,955,000 after buying an additional 2,775 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $591.54 on Friday. MSCI Inc has a 12 month low of $501.08 and a 12 month high of $626.28. The company has a market cap of $43.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $558.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $563.34.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.38 by $0.17. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 65.48% and a net margin of 40.74%.The business had revenue of $850.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $830.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.00 earnings per share. MSCI's revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 23,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,941,357.92. This represents a 29.81% 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 C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 3.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSCI. Evercore boosted their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $715.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on MSCI from $545.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $655.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $692.70.

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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