Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 6,945 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 41,630 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 6,945 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in MSCI were worth $23,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in MSCI in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSCI news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,624,640. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total transaction of $5,920,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. This trade represents a 29.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSCI Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $580.78 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $559.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $563.73. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $501.08 and a 52-week high of $626.28. The company has a market cap of $42.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.17, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.38 by $0.17. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 65.48%. The company had revenue of $850.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $830.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.00 earnings per share. MSCI’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MSCI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $730.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MSCI has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $692.70.

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.