Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Boosts Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 32.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,881 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,163 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in MSCI were worth $5,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in MSCI by 7.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 39.0% during the 1st 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 period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 24,728 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,984,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277 shares during the period. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 1st quarter worth about $1,702,000. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $280,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSCI news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total transaction of $348,454.08. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 15,945 shares in the company, valued at $8,904,006.90. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 2,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $536.17 per share, with a total value of $1,227,829.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 335,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $179,653,945.73. This trade represents a 0.69% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSCI Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of MSCI opened at $581.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $43.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.83 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $486.73 and a fifty-two week high of $634.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $565.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $564.32.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.37 by $0.10. MSCI had a net margin of 40.03% and a negative return on equity of 110.94%. The company had revenue of $793.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $794.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, October 28th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 45.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MSCI shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $588.00 to $611.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MSCI from $533.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised MSCI to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $642.63.

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.