Vanguard Group Inc. Has $5.37 Billion Stock Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,365,717 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 308,376 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.46% of MSCI worth $5,373,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE MSCI opened at $590.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $555.18 and a 200-day moving average of $562.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $501.08 and a 52 week high of $626.28.

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 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 company had revenue of $850.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $830.91 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.00 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSCI shares. Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on MSCI from $545.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised MSCI from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $692.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 6,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $524.18 per share, for a total transaction of $3,145,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $782,625,376.46. This trade represents a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares in the company, valued at $12,624,640. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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