Metis Global Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Metis Global Partners LLC reduced its position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,778 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 376 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of MSCI by 136.4% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 52 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Steph & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 66 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA raised its holdings in MSCI by 355.6% in the 1st quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 82 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in MSCI by 2,666.7% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 83 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $576.92 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $486.73 and a fifty-two week high of $642.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $562.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $562.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.56, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.34.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.37 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $793.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $794.87 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.03% and a negative return on equity of 110.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.63%.

MSCI declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSCI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on MSCI from $588.00 to $611.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $533.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of MSCI to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $655.90.

About MSCI

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.