MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Sold by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lowered its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 15.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,177 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,494 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in MSCI were worth $8,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter valued at $547,348,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 499.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 874,882 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $496,417,000 after purchasing an additional 728,900 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 91.8% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 691,554 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $392,395,000 after buying an additional 331,040 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 36.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,069,180 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $606,674,000 after buying an additional 282,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the third quarter valued at approximately $145,986,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Stock Up 0.6%

MSCI opened at $569.33 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $571.28 and its 200-day moving average is $565.55. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $486.73 and a 52-week high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $819.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.18 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. MSCI’s payout ratio is 52.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSCI. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings raised MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $690.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $715.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSCI has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $671.78.

Insider Activity

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $518.95 per share, for a total transaction of $415,160.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,847 shares in the company, valued at $775,231,900.65. This trade represents a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $247,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at $11,901,450. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.