MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Sold by Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. lessened its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 74.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,103 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 15,147 shares during the quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of MSCI by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI opened at $549.87 on Wednesday. MSCI Inc has a 1 year low of $486.73 and a 1 year high of $626.28. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $570.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $565.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.40 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29.

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

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 52.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $524.18 per share, for a total transaction of $3,145,080.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $782,625,376.46. The trade was a 0.40% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,901,450. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $690.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Evercore boosted their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America began coverage on MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $671.78.

MSCI 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.