Canoe Financial LP Grows Stake in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Canoe Financial LP grew its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 12.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 209,831 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 23,500 shares during the period. MSCI accounts for 1.7% of Canoe Financial LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Canoe Financial LP owned about 0.27% of MSCI worth $119,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,448 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,793,000 after buying an additional 2,061 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in MSCI by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,809 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,431,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 16.2% during the third quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 5,140 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,917,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 5,585.0% in the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,137 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in shares of MSCI by 10.5% in the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 6,673 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,793,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $581.43 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $560.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $562.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85 and a beta of 1.32. MSCI Inc has a one year low of $486.73 and a one year high of $634.99.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its 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. MSCI had a net margin of 40.03% and a negative return on equity of 110.94%. The company had revenue of $793.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $794.87 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.86 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, October 28th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSCI news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total transaction of $348,454.08. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 15,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,904,006.90. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $533.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of MSCI to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.