Magellan Asset Management Ltd Sells 24,207 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Magellan Asset Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 317,580 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 24,207 shares during the period. MSCI comprises about 2.2% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in MSCI were worth $182,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 341.7% in the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MSCI in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in MSCI in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total value of $5,920,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. The trade was a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MSCI Stock Up 1.1%

MSCI stock opened at $620.52 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $576.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $568.51. The company has a market cap of $45.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $501.08 and a 52-week high of $644.68.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.38 by $0.17. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 65.48% and a net margin of 40.74%.The firm had revenue of $850.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $830.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 46.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MSCI. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded MSCI from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $650.00 to $700.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSCI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $697.70.

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.