Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,996 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,510 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $20,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter valued at $547,348,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in MSCI by 91.8% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 691,554 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $392,395,000 after acquiring an additional 331,040 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in MSCI during the second quarter worth about $175,912,000. Banque Pictet & Cie SA bought a new stake in MSCI during the third quarter worth about $145,986,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 27.7% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 786,321 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $453,513,000 after purchasing an additional 170,551 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI opened at $556.97 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $575.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $566.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $486.73 and a 52-week high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSCI news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 2,290 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $536.17 per share, with a total value of $1,227,829.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 335,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $179,653,945.73. The trade was a 0.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MSCI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $715.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $690.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings raised MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $659.00.

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.