Boston Trust Walden Corp Boosts Stake in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in MSCI by 71.6% in Q4, buying an additional 8,838 shares to hold 21,180 shares worth about $12,152,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Multiple large institutions also materially increased positions (e.g., Mitsubishi UFJ +499.3%, Baillie Gifford +91.8%, Banque Pictet +103.3%), leaving institutional investors with roughly 89.97% ownership of MSCI.
• MSCI reported strong Q1 results — beating EPS and revenue estimates with margin expansion — and announced a $2.05 quarterly dividend alongside analyst target increases and ongoing buybacks, supporting bullish sentiment.

Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 71.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,180 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,838 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp's holdings in MSCI were worth $12,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in MSCI by 499.3% in the third 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 during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in MSCI by 91.8% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 691,554 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $392,395,000 after purchasing an additional 331,040 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in MSCI by 36.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,069,180 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $606,674,000 after purchasing an additional 282,859 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its position in MSCI by 103.3% in the fourth quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 523,035 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $300,081,000 after purchasing an additional 265,750 shares during the period. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY raised its position in MSCI by 10.3% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,394,117 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,358,446,000 after purchasing an additional 223,784 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting MSCI

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — adjusted EPS of $4.55 and revenue of $850.8M (≈+14% YoY); management cited strength in index and analytics recurring sales and margin expansion. MSCI Q1 earnings top consensus
• Positive Sentiment: Margin expansion and capital returns boosted sentiment — higher operating/EBITDA margins were highlighted and the company declared a $2.05 quarterly dividend alongside ongoing share repurchases. MSCI jumps after Q1 earnings beat
• Positive Sentiment: Several broker upgrades/target raises — Morgan Stanley raised its target to $727 (overweight), UBS raised to $720 (buy) and Wells Fargo lifted its target to $650; RBC reaffirmed outperform at $655 — reinforcing upside expectations. Morgan Stanley raise UBS raise Wells Fargo raise
• Neutral Sentiment: External review finds MSCI’s risk profile largely unchanged from its 2025 10‑K — no new material risk disclosures beyond the company’s existing focus. External review summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings‑call materials and full transcript are available for deeper read‑through (useful for assessing guidance, customer retention commentary and product momentum). Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: MSCI extended/delayed its review of Indonesia’s market reforms — the pause and potential index treatment changes have previously spooked investors and could create temporary index-flow volatility for affected EM/ASEAN allocations. MSCI extends Indonesia review

MSCI Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $607.55 on Thursday. MSCI Inc has a twelve month low of $501.08 and a twelve month high of $626.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $551.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $561.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.64 billion, a PE ratio of 34.70, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.38 by $0.17. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 65.48% and a net margin of 40.74%.The business had revenue of $850.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $830.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.00 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 19.39 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.26%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,624,640. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $518.95 per share, for a total transaction of $415,160.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $775,231,900.65. This trade represents a 0.05% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore lifted their price objective on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $715.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $692.70.

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.

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