MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Raises Dividend to $2.05 Per Share

MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of 2.05 per share by the technology company on Friday, February 27th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This is a 13.9% increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80.

MSCI has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 11 years. MSCI has a payout ratio of 38.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect MSCI to earn $19.04 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.8%.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI traded up $32.82 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $614.57. The stock had a trading volume of 746,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 422,368. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $570.24 and its 200 day moving average is $565.28. MSCI has a 52 week low of $486.73 and a 52 week high of $621.38. The stock has a market cap of $46.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.51 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.03% and a negative return on equity of 110.94%. MSCI’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.18 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that MSCI will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $536.17 per share, with a total value of $1,227,829.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 335,069 shares in the company, valued at $179,653,945.73. This represents a 0.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total value of $348,454.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 15,945 shares in the company, valued at $8,904,006.90. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in MSCI in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

About MSCI

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.