Panagora Asset Management Inc. Buys 22,222 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management boosted its MSCI stake by 61% in Q4, adding 22,222 shares to reach 58,673 shares valued at about $33.7 million.
• MSCI reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.55 versus $4.38 expected and revenue of $850.8 million, up 14.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain bullish on the stock, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $697.70, while MSCI also paid a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 61.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,673 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 22,222 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.08% of MSCI worth $33,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd grew its holdings in MSCI by 116.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in MSCI by 34.3% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 80,689 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,981,000 after buying an additional 20,606 shares in the last quarter. SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. bought a new stake in MSCI during the fourth quarter worth $1,406,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in MSCI by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 26,665 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $15,299,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares during the period. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at $1,302,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $610.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.85, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $501.08 and a fifty-two week high of $644.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $586.26 and a 200-day moving average of $570.81.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.38 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $850.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $830.91 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 65.48% and a net margin of 40.74%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.00 EPS. Equities analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. This represents a 29.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded MSCI from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $650.00 to $700.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $730.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $697.70.

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.

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