MSCI Inc $MSCI Stake Cut by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,128 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,610 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in MSCI in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $518.95 per share, for a total transaction 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 approximately $775,231,900.65. This trade represents a 0.05% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 21,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group set a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $655.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $671.78.

MSCI Stock Down 0.7%

MSCI stock opened at $565.39 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $570.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $565.53. The company has a market capitalization of $41.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.03, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $486.73 and a fifty-two week high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $819.51 million. MSCI had a net margin of 38.36% and a negative return on equity of 82.59%. MSCI’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.18 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

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

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.