Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 33,445 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 127.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,638 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,445 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.08% of MSCI worth $34,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steph & Co. acquired a new position in MSCI in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Banque Transatlantique SA grew its position in shares of MSCI by 355.6% during the 1st quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 82 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 2,666.7% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 83 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 47.0% in the 2nd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 97 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter valued at $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $536.68 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $486.73 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $559.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $562.47. The company has a market cap of $40.33 billion, a PE ratio of 34.01 and a beta of 1.32.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.37 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $793.43 million during 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%.MSCI’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.63%.

MSCI announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, October 28th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MSCI. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of MSCI from $533.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Barclays increased their price target on MSCI from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised MSCI to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $655.90.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total transaction of $348,454.08. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 15,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,904,006.90. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About MSCI

MSCI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides critical decision support tools and solutions for the investment community to manage investment processes worldwide. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed financial product, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, and over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct.