Quantbot Technologies LP Decreases Stock Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Quantbot Technologies LP lessened its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 89.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,115 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 36,681 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,777,749 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,008,745,000 after purchasing an additional 109,287 shares in the last quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. increased its position in MSCI by 103.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 14,958 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,490,000 after buying an additional 7,613 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in MSCI by 37.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,228 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,938,000 after buying an additional 3,346 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP boosted its holdings in MSCI by 12.6% in the third quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 209,831 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $119,060,000 after acquiring an additional 23,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Katamaran Capital LLP boosted its holdings in MSCI by 57.1% in the third quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP now owns 4,919 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,791,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $518.95 per share, with a total value of $415,160.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,231,900.65. The trade was a 0.05% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $247,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,901,450. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 19,300 shares of company stock valued at $10,261,957. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $565.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $41.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $572.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $565.48. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $486.73 and a fifty-two week high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MSCI shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group set a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $690.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $715.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.