Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Decreases Stock Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS trimmed its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,639 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,377 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in MSCI were worth $28,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 35.3% during the third quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 920 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in MSCI by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 9,861 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,595,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in MSCI by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 609 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 608 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BAM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $767,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,901,450. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 10,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $536.13 per share, for a total transaction of $5,473,887.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,487,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,250,508.11. The trade was a 0.69% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $594.58 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc has a 1 year low of $486.73 and a 1 year high of $634.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $569.75 and its 200-day moving average is $565.16. The company has a market cap of $44.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.68, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $794.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.86 earnings per share. MSCI’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $570.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $690.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Monday, January 12th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of MSCI to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $650.13.

MSCI 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.