Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group decreased its stake in MSCI by 3.4% in Q4, holding 1,717,364 shares after selling 60,385 shares, a position worth about $985.3 million (≈2.29% of MSCI).
• MSCI beat quarterly estimates, reporting $4.55 EPS vs. $4.38 expected and revenue of $850.8M (up 14.1% year‑over‑year), while Wall Street ratings are mostly positive with an average target of $692.70.
• Insider activity was mixed: CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 6,000 shares (~$3.15M) and executive Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares (~$5.92M); insiders own 3.76% of the stock and institutions own about 89.97%.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,717,364 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 60,385 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 2.29% of MSCI worth $985,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth about $235,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth about $20,454,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 568 shares of the technology company's stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,106 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,782,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 512 shares of the technology company's stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $524.18 per share, for a total transaction of $3,145,080.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,493,047 shares in the company, valued at $782,625,376.46. The trade was a 0.40% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total value 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 trade represents a 29.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $700.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $655.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $692.70.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE:MSCI opened at $582.04 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc has a one year low of $501.08 and a one year high of $626.28. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $558.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $563.51. The stock has a market cap of $42.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $830.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.00 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. MSCI's payout ratio is 46.83%.

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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