iA Global Asset Management Inc. Purchases 1,541 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 18.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,704 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,541 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $5,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 138 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Copperwynd Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 1,793 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 0.7% in the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,772 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,599,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 268 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 2.4% during the third quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 980 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $589.11 on Friday. MSCI Inc has a one year low of $486.73 and a one year high of $634.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $568.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $565.30. The firm has a market cap of $44.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $793.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $794.87 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.63%.

MSCI declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MSCI shares. Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of MSCI to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group lifted 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $588.00 to $611.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $650.13.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total transaction of $247,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 10,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $536.13 per share, with a total value of $5,473,887.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,487,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,250,508.11. This represents a 0.69% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.