Bank of Montreal Can Has $83.39 Million Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,969 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,577 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.20% of MSCI worth $83,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in MSCI by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 632,026 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $358,618,000 after buying an additional 51,901 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation raised its position in shares of MSCI by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 11,929 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,592,000 after buying an additional 2,528 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in MSCI by 0.6% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 122,658 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $69,597,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Nutshell Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nutshell Asset Management Ltd now owns 15,553 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,825,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 7.2% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 743 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE MSCI opened at $546.83 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $569.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $565.23. The company has a market cap of $40.18 billion, a PE ratio of 34.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 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 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. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 82.59% and a net margin of 38.36%.The business had revenue of $822.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is 52.26%.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $524.18 per share, with a total value of $3,145,080.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $782,625,376.46. This trade represents a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on MSCI shares. Evercore lifted their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $690.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $671.78.

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.