Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Has $106.41 Million Stock Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 187,544 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 5,007 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $106,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of MSCI by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,777,749 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,008,745,000 after acquiring an additional 109,287 shares during the period. Dash Acquisitions Inc. lifted its stake in MSCI by 103.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 14,958 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,490,000 after purchasing an additional 7,613 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in MSCI by 12.6% during the third quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 209,831 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $119,060,000 after purchasing an additional 23,500 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in MSCI by 37.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,228 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,938,000 after buying an additional 3,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in MSCI by 8.1% in the third quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 961,843 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $545,759,000 after buying an additional 71,720 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $556.97 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $575.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $566.62. MSCI Inc has a 1 year low of $486.73 and a 1 year high of $626.28. The company has a market capitalization of $41.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.29.

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

MSCI declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 2,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $536.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,227,829.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 335,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $179,653,945.73. The trade was a 0.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on MSCI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. 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 note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore lifted their target price on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSCI has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $659.00.

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.