Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd Grows Stock Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 97.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,227 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,592 shares during the period. MSCI accounts for 1.2% of Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in MSCI during the third quarter worth about $50,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 10,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $536.13 per share, for a total transaction of $5,473,887.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,487,047 shares in the company, valued at $797,250,508.11. The trade was a 0.69% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total transaction of $247,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 19,300 shares of company stock valued at $10,261,957. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $715.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America initiated coverage on MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $671.78.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $570.93 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.39, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $486.73 and a fifty-two week high of $626.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $572.43 and a 200 day moving average of $565.37.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.04. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 82.59% and a net margin of 38.36%.The company had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.26%.

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.