Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 15,178 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Madison Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,494 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 15,178 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $31,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 740 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 1,912.0% during the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 10,060 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,772,000 after purchasing an additional 9,560 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 1,145 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in MSCI by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 717 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $228,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI opened at $581.64 on Wednesday. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $501.08 and a fifty-two week high of $626.28. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $562.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $565.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.24.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSCI news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total value of $5,920,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. The trade was a 29.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were 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 directly owned 22,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,624,640. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 3.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MSCI from $545.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MSCI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.