Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 3,455 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management cut its MSCI stake by 39.8% in the first quarter, selling 3,455 shares and ending with 5,220 shares valued at about $2.81 million.
• MSCI continues to draw bullish analyst coverage, with several firms raising price targets and maintaining buy-equivalent ratings; the consensus target is $697 per share.
• The company reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also announced a $2.05 quarterly dividend, or $8.20 annualized, for a 1.5% yield.

Sterling Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 39.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,220 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 3,455 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in MSCI were worth $2,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSCI. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake 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. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MSCI shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of MSCI from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $650.00 to $700.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MSCI from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $697.00.

MSCI News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MSCI said it will acquire climate-risk data and analytics provider First Street for $120 million in cash, expanding its physical climate-risk capabilities and adding property-level and geospatial data tools that could strengthen its long-term product offering. MSCI to acquire climate risk data company First Street
• Neutral Sentiment: MSCI also drew attention for its role in ongoing index classification debates, with new coverage focused on South Korea’s market status and why MSCI still considers it an emerging market. These articles are more about MSCI’s benchmark methodology and may support the company’s visibility, but they are not a direct earnings driver. South Korea Has the World’s Hottest Stock Market: Why Does MSCI Still Call It ‘Emerging’?
• Negative Sentiment: Shares fell as investors weighed whether the First Street deal will deliver enough near-term return on investment, especially amid broader weakness in growth and market-data names. The move came despite MSCI’s recent quarter showing solid revenue and run-rate growth, suggesting the decline is more sentiment- and valuation-driven than tied to a fundamental miss. MSCI slides as investors weigh new acquisition against broader growth-stock pressure

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $556.63 on Monday. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $501.08 and a fifty-two week high of $644.68. The business's 50 day moving average price is $591.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $572.62. The company has a market capitalization of $40.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.38 by $0.17. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 65.48% and a net margin of 40.74%.The company had revenue of $850.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $830.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.00 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is 46.83%.

MSCI 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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