MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Bought by National Pension Service

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its stake in MSCI by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, adding 8,435 shares and bringing its holdings to 119,211 shares worth about $68.4 million.
• MSCI reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.55 per share on revenue of $850.8 million, with revenue up 14.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain bullish on the stock, with multiple firms raising targets and MSCI carrying a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $697.70.

National Pension Service raised its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 119,211 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,435 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.16% of MSCI worth $68,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,674,093 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,489,177,000 after buying an additional 165,851 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,320,761 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,884,233,000 after buying an additional 39,450 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,394,117 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,358,446,000 after buying an additional 223,784 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,777,749 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,008,745,000 after buying an additional 109,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 282,859 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $630.39 on Friday. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $501.08 and a fifty-two week high of $640.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $570.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $567.12. The company has a market capitalization of $45.89 billion, a PE ratio of 36.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.24.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.83%.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total value of $5,920,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. This trade represents a 29.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,624,640. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of MSCI from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $650.00 to $700.00 in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSCI from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $730.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $697.70.

Key MSCI News

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MSCI was the subject of a Wells Fargo upgrade, with one article arguing the stock still looks reasonable after the move and that AI demand could support future growth. A Look At MSCI NYSE: MSCI Valuation After Wells Fargo Upgrade And AI Demand Tailwinds
• Neutral Sentiment: MSCI’s rebalancing changes prompted large market moves in India, including sharp declines in the Sensex and Nifty as passive funds adjusted holdings. These articles explain the mechanics of the index rebalance and the resulting volatility, but they do not indicate a direct hit to MSCI’s own fundamentals. The MSCI rebalancing candle: Here's why Sensex fell 850 points in 10 minutes today
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage from Indian financial outlets said the MSCI rebalancing led to outsized foreign-fund outflows and a broad market drop, underscoring MSCI’s influence on global index flows rather than its core business performance. FIIs pull out massive Rs 20,637 crore in single day on Friday. What led to this sharp exit?

MSCI Company 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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