Cat Rock Capital Management LP Buys 2,695 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Cat Rock Capital Management LP grew its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,341 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the quarter. MSCI makes up approximately 3.5% of Cat Rock Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Cat Rock Capital Management LP’s holdings in MSCI were worth $28,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 20.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter valued at approximately $920,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 47.2% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 365 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s 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 purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,493,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $782,625,376.46. The trade was a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $547.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $40.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI Inc has a 12 month low of $486.73 and a 12 month high of $626.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $568.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $564.80.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly 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. 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 52.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $715.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. 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. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $690.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $671.78.

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.