Moore Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Moore Capital Management initiated a position in MSCI during the second quarter, purchasing 5,173 shares valued at approximately $2.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 89.97% of MSCI’s outstanding shares.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with MSCI receiving an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $709.50, although targets range from $615 to $760.
• MSCI reported second-quarter revenue growth of 12.2% year over year, but earnings and revenue slightly missed estimates. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, equivalent to a 1.4% yield.

Moore Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,173 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,897,000.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MSCI. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on MSCI from $730.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $742.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $690.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $615.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $709.50.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $572.02 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $501.08 and a fifty-two week high of $644.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.59 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $579.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $573.62.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $4.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.99 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $867.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $870.71 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 55.19%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued 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 presently 44.86%.

Key Stories Impacting MSCI

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MSCI implemented its periodic Saudi-market index changes and its August review across India, generating substantial passive-fund trading. India’s closing-auction session recorded roughly ₹39,718 crore in turnover, or about 22% of total cash-market activity, highlighting the scale and influence of MSCI’s benchmarks. MSCI implements periodic changes in Saudi market today
• Positive Sentiment: Index additions including Sandisk, Groww, Lenskart, Laurus Labs and Adani Energy are expected to attract passive inflows, while index changes to other constituents drove billions of dollars in repositioning. The activity underscores MSCI’s pricing power and strategic importance to institutional investors. Sandisk to join the MSCI World Index
• Neutral Sentiment: India’s new closing-auction mechanism handled its first major MSCI rebalance, with approximately $4 billion of flows and sharp late-session swings. The successful processing of large institutional orders supports confidence in MSCI’s benchmark ecosystem, but the event primarily affects market infrastructure and constituent stocks rather than MSCI’s near-term revenue. MSCI rebalance to test India’s new closing auction
• Negative Sentiment: Broader risk sentiment remained cautious after Asian equities and MSCI’s Asia-Pacific gauge declined amid a more hawkish interest-rate outlook. This may weigh on valuation-sensitive financial-data and index businesses, despite MSCI’s recurring-revenue model. Asian stocks drop on hawkish outlook

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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