Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 15,984 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,685 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,984 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in MSCI were worth $19,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Steph & Co. purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in MSCI during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in MSCI by 47.0% during the 2nd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 97 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in MSCI in the second quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new position in MSCI in the second quarter worth about $62,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the firm’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 value of $247,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,901,450. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 10,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $536.13 per share, with a total value of $5,473,887.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,487,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,250,508.11. This trade represents a 0.69% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:MSCI opened at $581.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $43.66 billion, a PE ratio of 36.83 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $565.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $564.39. MSCI Inc has a 12 month low of $486.73 and a 12 month high of $634.99.

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

MSCI declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MSCI Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSCI. Barclays increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on MSCI from $533.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group boosted their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on MSCI from $588.00 to $611.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $642.63.

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.