Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management increased its holdings in MSCI Inc by 4.8% in the first quarter, owning 25,578 shares with a value of approximately $14.43 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Callan Family Office LLC and Nuveen LLC, have also significantly increased their stakes in MSCI, with 89.97% of the shares now held by institutional investors.
• CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased nearly 10,000 shares of MSCI stock, enhancing his ownership to approximately $697 million in value, and company insiders have bought a total of 12,400 shares worth nearly $6.73 million in the last three months.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,578 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in MSCI were worth $14,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Callan Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 25.8% in the first quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,063,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. Bulltick Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the first quarter worth about $3,970,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 2.1% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 20,802 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,764,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 12.9% in the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 762 shares of the technology company's stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in MSCI during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $117,879,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 9,916 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $544.70 per share, for a total transaction of $5,401,245.20. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,279,867 shares in the company, valued at $697,143,554.90. This trade represents a 0.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders purchased 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $567.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $43.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $562.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $562.09. MSCI Inc has a one year low of $486.73 and a one year high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.12 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $772.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $763.06 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.13% and a net margin of 39.46%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSCI's payout ratio is 47.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSCI. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $654.73.

MSCI Company Profile

MSCI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides critical decision support tools and solutions for the investment community to manage investment processes worldwide. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed financial product, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, and over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct.

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