State of Michigan Retirement System Has $22.09 Million Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in MSCI by 10.6% to 38,502 shares, representing about $22.09 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Insider activity was mixed: CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 6,000 shares at about $524.18 (~$3.15M), while CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares at $560.00.
• MSCI reported a quarterly earnings beat (EPS $4.55 vs. $4.38 est.; revenue $850.8M vs. $830.9M), announced a quarterly dividend of $2.05 (1.4% yield), and holds a consensus "Buy" rating with an average price target of $692.70.

State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,502 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System owned about 0.05% of MSCI worth $22,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSCI. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in MSCI by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 10,784 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,187,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 1,136 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 230.4% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its position in MSCI by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,304,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 341.7% in the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 6,000 shares of the company'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 acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $782,625,376.46. This represents a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,624,640. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MSCI. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $730.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MSCI from $545.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $692.70.

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI opened at $590.81 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $501.08 and a fifty-two week high of $626.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.74, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.30. The company's 50 day moving average price is $555.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $562.56.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.38 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $850.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $830.91 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 65.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 19.61 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

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

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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