Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its MSCI stake by 21.6% in the first quarter, selling 370,325 shares and ending with 1.35 million shares valued at about $726.1 million.
• MSCI’s most recent quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $4.55 versus the $4.38 estimate and revenue of $850.8 million, up 14.1% year over year.
• Wall Street remains bullish on MSCI, with an average Buy rating and a consensus price target of about $709.27; several firms recently raised their targets, and the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 21.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,347,039 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 370,325 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.85% of MSCI worth $726,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in MSCI by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,320,761 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,884,233,000 after purchasing an additional 39,450 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY raised its position in MSCI by 15.1% in the fourth 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. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,467,556 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,415,713,000 after buying an additional 52,242 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in MSCI by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,000,942 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $574,270,000 after buying an additional 39,099 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $619.84 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $593.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $575.68. The company has a market capitalization of $45.12 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $501.08 and a 12-month high of $644.68.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $830.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.00 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 19.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $690.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised MSCI from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $650.00 to $700.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on MSCI from $715.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $709.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. The trade was a 29.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

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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