MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Sold by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. cut its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,128 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,610 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,674,093 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,489,177,000 after purchasing an additional 165,851 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,281,311 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,892,463,000 after purchasing an additional 45,547 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its stake in MSCI by 4.8% during the second quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,170,333 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,251,718,000 after purchasing an additional 98,680 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in MSCI by 1.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,993,524 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,146,298,000 after buying an additional 34,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MSCI by 6.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,777,749 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,008,745,000 after buying an additional 109,287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 800 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $518.95 per share, with a total value of $415,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,231,900.65. This trade represents a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $565.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $41.54 billion, a PE ratio of 36.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $486.73 and a 52 week high of $626.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $570.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $565.53.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 38.36% and a negative return on equity of 82.59%. The firm had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $819.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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 year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $638.00 price target on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $690.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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.