MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Sold by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC cut its MSCI stake by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 48,834 shares and leaving it with 254,715 shares worth about $146.5 million.
• MSCI’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $4.55 versus the $4.38 estimate and revenue of $850.8 million, up 14.1% year over year.
• Despite some insider selling and mixed MSCI market-accessibility news, analysts remain bullish overall, with an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of about $697.

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 254,715 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 48,834 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.35% of MSCI worth $146,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in MSCI by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,320,761 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,884,233,000 after acquiring an additional 39,450 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its holdings in MSCI by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,755,747 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,581,055,000 after acquiring an additional 361,630 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in MSCI by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,467,556 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,415,713,000 after acquiring an additional 52,242 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,446,291 shares of the technology company's stock worth $829,781,000 after purchasing an additional 168,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,000,942 shares of the technology company's stock worth $574,270,000 after purchasing an additional 39,099 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at $13,941,357.92. This represents a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Stock Up 0.1%

MSCI stock opened at $581.69 on Friday. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $501.08 and a 52 week high of $644.68. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $589.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $571.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.35 billion, a PE ratio of 33.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $830.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.00 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is 46.83%.

Key MSCI News

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MSCI’s latest market accessibility review reinforces the company’s role as a critical gatekeeper for global index inclusion, which can support demand for its index and benchmark products. MSCI Announces the Results of the MSCI 2026 Global Market Accessibility Review
• Neutral Sentiment: MSCI flagged additional concerns about Indonesia’s market transparency, including opaque ownership structures, limited disclosure, and possible coordinated trading that could distort pricing. What you need to know about MSCI's Indonesia verdict on Tuesday
• Neutral Sentiment: MSCI also cited forex-market issues and downgraded Indonesia’s information-flow assessment, but the immediate effect is mainly to signal tighter scrutiny ahead of the final emerging-markets verdict rather than a direct hit to MSCI’s own fundamentals. MSCI Cites Forex Market Issues in Indonesia Review
• Negative Sentiment: If MSCI ultimately downgrades Indonesia or leaves other markets under pressure, it could weigh on sentiment around emerging-market indexes and create uncertainty around country flows ahead of next week’s classification decisions. MSCI flags investability concerns in Indonesia over transparency

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $730.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $690.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten 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 $697.00.

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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