Short Interest in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Declines By 16.2%

MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) was the target of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,094,274 shares, a decline of 16.2% from the February 26th total of 1,305,533 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 625,631 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSCI. Evercore raised their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings cut MSCI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Raymond James Financial upgraded MSCI from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $710.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $674.00.

MSCI Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $522.56 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $38.39 billion, a PE ratio of 33.31, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average is $560.17 and its 200 day moving average is $563.52. MSCI has a 52 week low of $486.73 and a 52 week high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04. MSCI had a net margin of 38.36% and a negative return on equity of 82.59%. The business had revenue of $822.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MSCI will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business 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 was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,624,640. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $524.18 per share, with a total value of $3,145,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $782,625,376.46. This represents a 0.40% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 7,100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,074,000 after buying an additional 2,510 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 740 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in MSCI by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd now owns 15,150 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,692,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Midway Capital Research & Management bought a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,130,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.