MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $626.28 and last traded at $624.6150, with a volume of 767473 shares. The stock had previously closed at $609.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $690.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $659.00.

MSCI Stock Up 2.5%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $574.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $566.46. The company has a market capitalization of $46.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.81, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly 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. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 82.59% and a net margin of 38.36%.The business had revenue of $822.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $819.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 52.26%.

MSCI declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 10,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $536.13 per share, with a total value of $5,473,887.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,487,047 shares in the company, valued at $797,250,508.11. This represents a 0.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total transaction of $247,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MSCI by 6.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,777,749 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,008,745,000 after acquiring an additional 109,287 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its holdings in MSCI by 12.6% in the third quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 209,831 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $119,060,000 after buying an additional 23,500 shares during the period. Dash Acquisitions Inc. boosted its position in MSCI by 103.6% during the third quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 14,958 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,490,000 after acquiring an additional 7,613 shares during the last quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,806,000. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of MSCI by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 961,843 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $545,759,000 after acquiring an additional 71,720 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.