Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,249 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 14,212 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $84,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSCI. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 341.7% in the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $690.00 target price on MSCI in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on MSCI from $730.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $709.27.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $603.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 267,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 683,532. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $593.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $575.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI Inc has a 1-year low of $501.08 and a 1-year high of $644.68.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 65.48%. The firm had revenue of $850.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $830.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.00 earnings per share. MSCI’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 19.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 46.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 value of $5,920,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at $13,941,357.92. This represents a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.