Legal & General Group Plc Buys New Shares in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 460,123 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,687,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.63% of MSCI as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 568 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in MSCI by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,074 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 830 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in MSCI by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,074 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in MSCI by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 530 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE:MSCI opened at $564.39 on Thursday. MSCI Inc has a 1 year low of $501.08 and a 1 year high of $644.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $579.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $573.07. The company has a market cap of $41.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.87, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.23.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $4.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.99 by ($0.05). MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 55.19%. The firm had revenue of $867.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $870.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 19.61 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSCI shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MSCI in a research report on Friday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $760.00 price target for the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $690.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of MSCI from $715.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $742.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $709.50.

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.