Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 379,096 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 10,760 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $215,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 7.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in MSCI by 39.0% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,724,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in MSCI by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in MSCI by 663.6% during the 2nd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 168 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in MSCI by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 4,482 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,585,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 6,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $524.18 per share, for a total transaction of $3,145,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,493,047 shares in the company, valued at $782,625,376.46. This trade represents a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $247,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group set a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 target price 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 given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $671.78.

MSCI Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $569.33 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.29, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $571.28 and its 200 day moving average is $565.55. MSCI Inc has a 12 month low of $486.73 and a 12 month high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04. MSCI had a net margin of 38.36% and a negative return on equity of 82.59%. The company had revenue of $822.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.18 EPS. MSCI’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is 52.26%.

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.