Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Acquires New Stake in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. bought a new stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,580 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,445,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSCI. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 341.7% during the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Compound Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $564.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $582.30 and a 200 day moving average of $573.55. The company has a market cap of $41.01 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.23. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $501.08 and a 12-month high of $644.77.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $4.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.99 by ($0.05). MSCI had a negative return on equity of 55.19% and a net margin of 40.74%.The firm had revenue of $867.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $870.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.17 EPS. MSCI’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is 44.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MSCI shares. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of MSCI from $730.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group set a $615.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $690.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on MSCI from $715.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $709.50.

About MSCI

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.