MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 331,016 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 73,518 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $189,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Katamaran Capital LLP lifted its holdings in MSCI by 57.1% in the third quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP now owns 4,919 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,791,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in MSCI by 10.5% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,996 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in MSCI by 253.0% in the third quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 3,202 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after acquiring an additional 2,295 shares during the period. PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd lifted its holdings in MSCI by 116.8% in the fourth quarter. PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd now owns 5,150 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 2,775 shares during the period. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in MSCI by 34.3% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 80,689 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,981,000 after acquiring an additional 20,606 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,624,640. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. This represents a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE:MSCI opened at $616.28 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $578.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $568.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.87 billion, a PE ratio of 35.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $501.08 and a fifty-two 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.38 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $850.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $830.91 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 65.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.00 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised MSCI from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $650.00 to $700.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America assumed coverage on MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSCI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $697.70.

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.