Findlay Park Partners LLP Sells 3,500 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Findlay Park Partners LLP trimmed its position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 195,800 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the period. Findlay Park Partners LLP’s holdings in MSCI were worth $111,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Banco Santander S.A. increased its position in shares of MSCI by 6.4% in the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,769 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in MSCI by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 14,397 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,169,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its position in MSCI by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in MSCI by 499.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 874,882 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $496,417,000 after buying an additional 728,900 shares during the period. Finally, GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd lifted its holdings in MSCI by 52.5% in the 3rd quarter. GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd now owns 169,177 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $95,993,000 after buying an additional 58,213 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $518.95 per share, for a total transaction of $415,160.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,231,900.65. This trade represents a 0.05% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total transaction of $247,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at $11,901,450. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders acquired 19,300 shares of company stock worth $10,261,957 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $570.93 on Friday. MSCI Inc has a 1 year low of $486.73 and a 1 year high of $626.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $572.43 and a 200 day moving average of $565.28. The stock has a market cap of $41.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.04. MSCI had a net margin of 38.36% and a negative return on equity of 82.59%. The business had revenue of $822.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSCI. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $690.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Monday, January 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $715.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $671.78.

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.