Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Reduces Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its MSCI stake by 5.7% in Q4, selling 4,986 shares and ending the period with 82,786 shares valued at about $47.74 million (≈0.11% of MSCI).
• MSCI beat Q1 expectations with adjusted EPS $4.55 vs. $4.38 and revenue $850.8M (+14.1% YoY), reported margin expansion, declared a $2.05 quarterly dividend and ongoing buybacks, and received multiple target raises that support a consensus "Buy" target of $692.70.
• Insider moves included CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchasing 6,000 shares (~$3.15M) while CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares, and institutional investors collectively own roughly 90% of the company's stock.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH decreased its position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,786 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 4,986 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.11% of MSCI worth $47,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSCI. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in MSCI by 7.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in MSCI by 20.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in MSCI by 1.0% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in MSCI in the second quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on MSCI from $545.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $730.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $692.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $252,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,624,640. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $524.18 per share, for a total transaction of $3,145,080.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,493,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $782,625,376.46. This trade represents a 0.40% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 3.76% of the company's stock.

More MSCI News

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 Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $607.55 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $551.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $561.97. MSCI Inc has a 1 year low of $501.08 and a 1 year high of $626.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.64 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $850.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $830.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.00 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 19.39 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.26%.

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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