MSCI Inc $MSCI Holdings Decreased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 177,915 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,504 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $100,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 39.0% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 2.1% during the second quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 4,653 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,684,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 6.0% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 18,912 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the period. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in MSCI during the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $587.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.14 billion, a PE ratio of 37.22 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI Inc has a 1 year low of $486.73 and a 1 year high of $634.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $566.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $564.49.

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

MSCI declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, October 28th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the business’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 value of $348,454.08. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 15,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,904,006.90. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,901,450. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSCI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on MSCI from $588.00 to $611.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MSCI from $533.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $647.63.

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.