Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Purchases New Shares in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management purchased 3,801 MSCI shares worth approximately $2.05 million during the first quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own nearly 90% of MSCI’s outstanding stock.
• MSCI reported quarterly revenue of $867 million, up 12.2% year over year, but earnings of $4.94 per share fell short of analysts’ $4.99 estimate. Shares opened at $572.29, while analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $709.50.
• MSCI declared a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, equivalent to $8.20 annually and a 1.4% yield, with payment scheduled for August 28 to shareholders of record as of August 14.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,801 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,049,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter worth about $528,560,000. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its holdings in MSCI by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,755,747 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,581,055,000 after purchasing an additional 361,630 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA grew its position in shares of MSCI by 103.3% during the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 523,035 shares of the technology company's stock worth $300,081,000 after purchasing an additional 265,750 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $130,380,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,446,291 shares of the technology company's stock worth $829,781,000 after purchasing an additional 168,405 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $572.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $596.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $576.64. MSCI Inc has a one year low of $501.08 and a one year high of $644.77. The company has a market cap of $41.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $4.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.99 by ($0.05). MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 55.19%. The business had revenue of $867.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $870.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.17 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given 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 is Friday, August 14th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of MSCI in a research report on Friday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $760.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $742.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Evercore set a $722.00 target price on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $709.50.

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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