Saudi Central Bank Purchases 2,217 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Saudi Central Bank grew its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 79.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,990 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,217 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSCI. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 7.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in MSCI by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,724,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in MSCI by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 35,130 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,261,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the second quarter valued at $88,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE:MSCI opened at $572.27 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc has a one year low of $501.08 and a one year high of $644.77. The company has a market cap of $41.60 billion, a PE ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $579.78 and a 200-day moving average of $575.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $4.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.99 by ($0.05). MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 55.19%. The company had revenue of $867.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $870.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.17 earnings per share. MSCI’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Evercore set a $722.00 target price on MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded MSCI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on MSCI from $715.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group set a $615.00 target price on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $709.50.

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.