Copeland Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Copeland Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,793 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,228 shares during the quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $14,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the first quarter valued at approximately $296,000. Quarry LP increased its position in MSCI by 109.6% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 935 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in MSCI by 1.8% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,783 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,139,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in MSCI by 38.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 483,873 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $273,631,000 after buying an additional 134,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FJ Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in MSCI by 50.5% in the first quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $890,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group increased 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, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $642.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total transaction of $348,454.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 15,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,904,006.90. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total transaction of $247,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $585.36 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $562.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $562.66. The company has a market cap of $43.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.10 and a beta of 1.32. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $486.73 and a fifty-two week high of $634.99.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released 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 negative return on equity of 110.94% and a net margin of 40.03%.The firm had revenue of $793.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $794.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

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

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

MSCI Company Profile

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.