Meridiem Capital Partners LP Makes New Investment in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Meridiem Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 26,407 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,984,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth $547,348,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 499.3% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 874,882 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $496,417,000 after acquiring an additional 728,900 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in MSCI by 91.8% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 691,554 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $392,395,000 after acquiring an additional 331,040 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in MSCI by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,069,180 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $606,674,000 after acquiring an additional 282,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA purchased a new position in MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at about $145,986,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $518.95 per share, with a total value of $415,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,493,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,231,900.65. This trade represents a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE:MSCI traded up $9.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $545.58. 67,126 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 649,192. The company has a fifty day moving average of $568.95 and a 200 day moving average of $565.04. MSCI Inc has a twelve month low of $486.73 and a twelve month high of $626.28. The company has a market capitalization of $40.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.29.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $822.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.18 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MSCI shares. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $690.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore increased their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $671.78.

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.