Key Points
- CFO Andrew Wiechmann sold 450 shares on December 11 at an average price of $550 for a total of $247,500, reducing his stake by 2.04% to 21,639 shares (SEC filing disclosed).
- MSCI's board approved a $3.0 billion share repurchase program (up to ~7.1% of shares) and the company pays a $1.80 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~1.3%, DPR 45.6%).
- The firm reported Q3 EPS of $4.47 (beating estimates) with revenue up 9.5% YoY but slightly below expectations, and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $651.56 after several target upgrades.
MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) CFO Andrew Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was 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 $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.
MSCI Stock Up 0.1%
MSCI stock opened at $550.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $41.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.88 and a beta of 1.32. MSCI Inc has a twelve month low of $486.73 and a twelve month high of $636.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $558.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $561.99.
MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 110.94% and a net margin of 40.03%.The company had revenue of $793.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $794.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.86 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.
MSCI Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.63%.
MSCI declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, October 28th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MSCI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group increased their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of MSCI to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $533.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $651.56.
View Our Latest Stock Report on MSCI
Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSCI. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in MSCI by 189.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,056 shares of the technology company's stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in shares of MSCI by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 9,097 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,162,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the third quarter worth approximately $254,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the third quarter valued at approximately $756,000. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,057,000. 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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