J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Cuts Stock Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG trimmed its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 76.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 362 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,176 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in MSCI were worth $208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of MSCI by 100.0% during 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. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 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, for a total transaction of $3,145,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $782,625,376.46. This trade represents a 0.40% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value 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 $12,624,640. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $655.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of MSCI from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $710.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered MSCI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Evercore lifted their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $665.89.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $543.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.95 billion, a PE ratio of 34.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $555.00 and its 200 day moving average is $562.31. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $486.73 and a fifty-two week high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 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 quarter last year, the business earned $4.18 earnings per share. MSCI’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

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

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.