MSCI Inc $MSCI Stock Position Lowered by EULAV Asset Management

EULAV Asset Management decreased its position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 185,976 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 14,996 shares during the period. MSCI accounts for about 2.8% of EULAV Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. EULAV Asset Management’s holdings in MSCI were worth $106,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Prudential PLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 13,405 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,691,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings in MSCI by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 207,792 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $119,216,000 after purchasing an additional 32,445 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its holdings in MSCI by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 1,323 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in MSCI by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 14,654 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MSCI. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSCI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $730.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $697.70.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $616.28 on Friday. MSCI Inc has a 1-year low of $501.08 and a 1-year high of $644.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $578.01 and its 200 day moving average is $568.85. The company has a market cap of $44.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.20, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued 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 company had revenue of $850.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $830.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. MSCI’s payout ratio is 46.83%.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares in the company, valued at $12,624,640. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total transaction of $5,920,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. This represents a 29.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 3.76% of the company’s stock.

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.