HB Wealth Management LLC Acquires 2,759 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 151.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,585 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,759 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,724,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in MSCI by 10.1% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 24,728 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,984,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new position in MSCI in the first quarter valued at $1,702,000. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in MSCI in the second quarter valued at $280,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total transaction of $348,454.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 15,945 shares in the company, valued at $8,904,006.90. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 10,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $536.13 per share, with a total value of $5,473,887.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,487,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,250,508.11. This trade represents a 0.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI opened at $581.11 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $565.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $564.32. The firm has a market cap of $43.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.83 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI Inc has a 1 year low of $486.73 and a 1 year high of $634.99.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.37 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $793.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $794.87 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.03% and a negative return on equity of 110.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Seaport Res Ptn raised MSCI to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $588.00 to $611.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $533.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $642.63.

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.