MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $2.05

MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of 2.05 per share by the technology company on Friday, February 27th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is a 13.9% increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80.

MSCI has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 11 consecutive years. MSCI has a payout ratio of 38.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect MSCI to earn $19.04 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.8%.

MSCI Stock Up 5.6%

MSCI stock traded up $32.82 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $614.57. The stock had a trading volume of 995,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 440,023. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $570.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $565.28. MSCI has a 1 year low of $486.73 and a 1 year high of $621.38. The stock has a market cap of $46.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04. MSCI had a net margin of 40.03% and a negative return on equity of 110.94%. The firm had revenue of $822.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $247,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,901,450. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the business’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 transaction, the general counsel owned 15,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,904,006.90. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MSCI

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSCI. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $547,348,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in MSCI by 499.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 874,882 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $496,417,000 after purchasing an additional 728,900 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in MSCI by 91.8% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 691,554 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $392,395,000 after acquiring an additional 331,040 shares in the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in MSCI in the second quarter valued at $175,912,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of MSCI by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,069,180 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $606,674,000 after acquiring an additional 282,859 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

About MSCI

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.