MSCI Inc $MSCI Stock: Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Holdings

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its MSCI stake by 38.7% in the third quarter, selling 64,970 shares and retaining 102,877 shares valued at approximately $55.4 million. Institutional investors still own about 89.97% of MSCI.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish, with one Strong Buy and eleven Buy ratings and a consensus price target of $701.17. However, Morgan Stanley recently lowered its target to $662 while maintaining an Overweight rating.
• MSCI’s latest quarterly results slightly missed expectations, with $4.94 in adjusted earnings per share versus a $4.99 estimate, though revenue rose 12.2% year over year to $867 million. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, yielding about 1.4%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 38.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 102,877 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 64,970 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.14% of MSCI worth $55,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashurst Perkins Coie Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the third quarter worth approximately $827,000. Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 50.8% in the 3rd quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the technology company's stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 96.9% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 1,321 shares of the technology company's stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 1,277 shares of the technology company's stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, CFO Andrew Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.00, for a total transaction of $256,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,337,080. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $662.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of MSCI from $715.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of MSCI from $730.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $685.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $701.17.

Trending Headlines about MSCI

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MSCI’s upcoming third-quarter results are expected to benefit from strong demand for indexes, ETF inflows and growth in private-capital products. Analysts at RBC anticipate a modest earnings beat, offering a potential near-term catalyst. MSCI earnings expectations
• Positive Sentiment: MSCI launched a consultation to move Indonesia’s indexes from emerging-market to standalone status, with a final decision expected by June 2027. Although disruptive for Indonesian markets, the process reinforces MSCI’s role as a key global benchmark provider and may increase attention to its index-governance services. MSCI Indonesia reclassification consultation
• Neutral Sentiment: MSCI is also consulting on new index-eligibility rules that could eventually remove Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, from some indexes. Existing constituents reportedly must fail eligibility screens across two consecutive annual filing periods, so the financial impact is not immediate. Strategy index eligibility proposal
• Neutral Sentiment: MSCI froze its Turkey indexes while market-access concerns remain under review. The action demonstrates stricter methodology enforcement but could create uncertainty for index-linked products and affected clients. MSCI Turkey index freeze
• Negative Sentiment: The Indonesia proposal has triggered a sharp sell-off in Indonesian equities and raised concerns about foreign outflows. The resulting criticism and political scrutiny may increase uncertainty around MSCI’s emerging-market franchise, even though the decision is still under consultation. MSCI Indonesia downgrade warning
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its MSCI price target from $700 to $662 while maintaining an Overweight rating. The cut reflects more cautious valuation expectations ahead of earnings, despite continued analyst support. MSCI price target reduction

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $567.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $558.93 and a 200-day moving average of $575.34. The company has a market cap of $41.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI Inc has a one year low of $501.08 and a one year high of $644.77.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $4.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.99 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $867.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $870.71 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 55.19%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 19.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.86%.

About MSCI

MSCI Inc is a global provider of investment decision-support tools and services for institutional investors, asset managers, banks, wealth managers and other financial professionals. The company is best known for its equity, fixed-income and multi-asset-class indexes, which are used as benchmarks and as the basis for investment products such as exchange-traded funds and other index-linked strategies.

In addition to indexes, MSCI provides portfolio analytics, risk-management and performance-measurement tools designed to help clients evaluate exposures, construct portfolios and manage investment risks.

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