Candriam S.C.A. Acquires 30,875 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 577.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 36,221 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 30,875 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $20,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in MSCI by 7.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 39.0% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in MSCI by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in MSCI by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 1,192 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in MSCI by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 212 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $560.26 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $486.73 and a 12-month high of $626.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $575.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $566.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.10 billion, a PE ratio of 35.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.29.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 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 analyst estimates of $819.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.89%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total transaction of $247,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total transaction of $348,454.08. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 15,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,904,006.90. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MSCI shares. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $690.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings raised MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group set a $638.00 price target on MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $659.00.

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.