MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Sold by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp decreased its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 85.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,740 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 347,495 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.08% of MSCI worth $32,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MSCI during the second quarter worth $547,348,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in MSCI by 499.3% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 874,882 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $496,417,000 after purchasing an additional 728,900 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in shares of MSCI by 91.8% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 691,554 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $392,395,000 after purchasing an additional 331,040 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of MSCI by 36.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,069,180 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $606,674,000 after purchasing an additional 282,859 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the third quarter worth about $145,986,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of MSCI opened at $536.64 on Friday. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $486.73 and a 12-month high of $626.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $568.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $565.04.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.51 million. MSCI had a net margin of 38.36% and a negative return on equity of 82.59%. MSCI’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSCI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $715.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group set a $638.00 target price on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $690.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $671.78.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 800 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $518.95 per share, with a total value of $415,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,493,847 shares in the company, valued at $775,231,900.65. This represents a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.31% 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.