Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Victory Capital trimmed its MSCI stake by 12.2% in Q3, selling 12,860 shares and ending the period with 92,420 shares valued at about $52.44 million; institutional investors own roughly 90% of the stock.
• CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 6,000 MSCI shares on Feb. 13 for about $3.15 million, increasing his direct holding to 1,493,047 shares; insiders collectively own 3.31% of the company.
• MSCI beat estimates and raised its dividend: Q earnings were $4.66 EPS (slightly above expectations) with revenue up 10.6% YoY to $822.5M, and the quarterly dividend was increased to $2.05 (annualized $8.20, ~1.4% yield); analysts' consensus target is about $671.78 ("Moderate Buy").

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 12.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 92,420 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 12,860 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.12% of MSCI worth $52,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSCI. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in MSCI by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in MSCI in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at $782,625,376.46. The trade was a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $247,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at $11,901,450. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSCI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $690.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America initiated coverage on MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $671.78.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $569.33 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $571.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $565.62. The company has a market capitalization of $41.83 billion, a PE ratio of 36.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $486.73 and a 12-month high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 82.59% and a net margin of 38.36%.The firm had revenue of $822.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.18 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.26%.

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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