Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stake in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 56.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,712 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 33,091 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in MSCI were worth $14,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 47.0% during the second quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 97 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSCI news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of MSCI 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 15,945 shares in the company, valued at $8,904,006.90. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at $11,901,450. This trade represents a 2.04% 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 insiders.

MSCI Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of MSCI opened at $570.45 on Thursday. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $486.73 and a 52-week high of $626.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $575.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $566.50. The company has a market capitalization of $42.86 billion, a PE ratio of 36.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.29.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $819.51 million. MSCI had a net margin of 38.36% and a negative return on equity of 82.59%. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MSCI shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $690.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Monday, January 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group set a $638.00 price objective on MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSCI presently has an average 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.