Evercore ISI Issues Positive Forecast for MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Stock Price

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) had its price target upped by Evercore ISI from $655.00 to $690.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on MSCI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $690.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded MSCI to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $659.00.

MSCI Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:MSCI opened at $606.96 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.61 billion, a PE ratio of 38.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $572.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $565.91. MSCI has a 1-year low of $486.73 and a 1-year high of $621.38.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.51 million. MSCI had a net margin of 38.36% and a negative return on equity of 82.59%. MSCI’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that MSCI will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 28th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSCI news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $247,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total value of $348,454.08. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 15,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,904,006.90. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in MSCI by 341.7% in the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in MSCI in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting MSCI

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI raised its price target to $690 and kept an Outperform rating, signaling strong buy-side conviction and a ~13.7% upside from the current price. Evercore price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: MSCI announced a meaningful dividend hike — quarterly payout raised to $2.05 (a ~13.9% increase vs. prior), supporting yield and income-oriented investor interest. Dividend hikes article
• Positive Sentiment: Operational strength: Q4 showed sticky demand (93% retention), revenue up ~10.6% Y/Y and an EPS beat (reported $4.66 vs. $4.62 consensus), supporting long-term subscription and asset-fee growth thesis. Retention / demand article
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q4 financials: revenue $822.5M, net margin ~40%, and EPS growth vs. prior year — results largely in line with expectations but with mixed underlying line-item trends. Investors should review the slide deck/press release for segment-level drivers. BusinessWire results
• Negative Sentiment: Company signaled higher full-year expenses and offered softer 2026 guidance, which, combined with the modest EPS beat, pressured the stock despite positive fundamentals. Guidance / reaction article
• Negative Sentiment: Index governance controversy: MSCI paused a rebalancing related to Indonesia, triggering market moves and drawing government scrutiny — a reputational/regulatory risk that can create near-term headlines and client/government friction. Reuters on Indonesia action

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.