2,321 Shares in MSCI Inc $MSCI Acquired by Waterway Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Waterway Wealth Management LLC disclosed a new first-quarter position in MSCI, buying 2,321 shares valued at about $1.25 million. Institutional ownership remains very high, with nearly 90% of MSCI stock held by institutions.
• MSCI is expanding its climate-risk business by acquiring First Street, a move aimed at strengthening its physical climate-risk data and geospatial tools. The deal supports MSCI’s longer-term growth strategy, though some investors appear cautious about integration and valuation.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, posting $4.55 EPS on $850.8 million in revenue, and analysts remain broadly constructive with an average Buy rating and a target price around $697. MSCI also paid a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share.

Waterway Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,321 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,251,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in MSCI by 341.7% in the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSCI News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MSCI is expanding its climate-risk analytics business by acquiring First Street, a provider of physics-based climate risk data and property-level geospatial tools. Management says the deal strengthens MSCI’s physical climate risk capabilities and could deepen its role in investment and risk workflows. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary around MSCI’s index and classification business keeps the company highly visible, with ongoing market-structure reviews for South Korea and Indonesia reinforcing MSCI’s influence over global capital flows. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: MSCI’s chief commented on global market classification issues, including why some developed economies still do not qualify for developed-market status under MSCI’s methodology. This highlights the company’s role in benchmark governance, but it does not directly change near-term fundamentals. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: MSCI also discussed strategic priorities and innovation in private assets, which supports the long-term product roadmap but appears more informational than immediately market-moving. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors seem to be discounting the First Street deal in the near term, possibly due to concerns about integration, valuation, and return on investment, while broader selling in premium-priced growth stocks is adding pressure. Article Title

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $544.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $39.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $591.86 and a 200-day moving average of $572.48. MSCI Inc has a one year low of $501.08 and a one year high of $644.68.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.38 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $850.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $830.91 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 65.48%. MSCI's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $690.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of MSCI from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $650.00 to $700.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $730.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $697.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total transaction of $5,920,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,941,357.92. This trade represents a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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