Key Points
- MSCI General Counsel Robert Gutowski sold 624 shares on Nov. 24 at an average price of $558.42 for about $348,454, leaving him with 15,945 shares (a 3.77% decrease in his stake).
- MSCI beat Q3 EPS estimates, reporting $4.47 per share vs. $4.37 consensus and revenue of $793.4M (up 9.5% year-over-year) with a net margin around 40%.
- Board authorized a $3.0 billion share buyback and declared a $1.80 quarterly dividend (annualized $7.20, ~1.3% yield), underscoring the company's capital-return strategy.
MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) General Counsel Robert Gutowski sold 624 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total value of $348,454.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 15,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,904,006.90. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.
MSCI Price Performance
Shares of MSCI stock opened at $563.15 on Thursday. MSCI Inc has a 1-year low of $486.73 and a 1-year high of $642.45. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $562.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $563.58. The firm has a market cap of $42.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.69, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.34.
MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.37 by $0.10. MSCI had a net margin of 40.03% and a negative return on equity of 110.94%. The firm had revenue of $793.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $794.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.86 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
MSCI Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.63%.
MSCI announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
Analyst Ratings Changes
MSCI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MSCI from $533.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on MSCI from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $588.00 to $611.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of MSCI to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $655.90.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MSCI
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 136.4% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 52 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Steph & Co. bought a new position in MSCI during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About MSCI
(
Get Free Report)
MSCI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides critical decision support tools and solutions for the investment community to manage investment processes worldwide. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed financial product, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, and over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct.
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