MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Sold by Atria Investments Inc

Atria Investments Inc decreased its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,226 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,605 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in MSCI were worth $7,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,191,000. Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its position in MSCI by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 861 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 5,557 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,153,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,243,000. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $591,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $526.21 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $38.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $486.73 and a fifty-two week high of $626.28. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $573.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $565.89.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.51 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 82.59% and a net margin of 38.36%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. MSCI’s payout ratio is 45.89%.

MSCI announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Headlines Impacting MSCI

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha highlights a 13.9% dividend increase and continued double-digit growth outlook for MSCI, a direct positive for income and total-return investors. MSCI: 13.9% Dividend Hike And Double-Digit Growth
• Positive Sentiment: MSCI-driven index additions in major markets (example: Aditya Birla Capital and L&T Finance added to MSCI Global Standard Index) are expected to trigger sizable passive flows into the included stocks, underscoring the commercial importance of MSCI’s index decisions and supporting its recurring-fee franchise. Birla Capital, L&T Finance enter MSCI Index
• Positive Sentiment: MSCI’s increased exposure to Chinese tech in recent revamps (and resulting market moves) illustrates the firm’s influence on global flows and index composition, which can sustain demand for MSCI’s index products and data services. China Stocks Climb as MSCI Boosts Exposure
• Positive Sentiment: Ongoing trend of adding crypto-related and microcap names to MSCI indexes (examples reported this week) demonstrates expanding coverage breadth and keeps MSCI at the center of passive rebalances — a structural tailwind for its indexing and data business. Another crypto firm joins MicroStrategy in MSCI index
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts note MSCI inclusions tend to spur foreign investor interest into affected markets — a market dynamic that benefits index users and validates MSCI’s market impact, but doesn’t directly change MSCI’s revenue mix in the short term. MSCI inclusions to spur foreign interest – analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly/annual commentary (Baron Fund note and coverage summaries) describes MSCI as holding steady amid macro and market challenges — supportive context but not a near-term stock mover on its own. MSCI (MSCI) Held Steady Amid Challenges
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/political friction surfaced after an MSCI “freeze” prompted government attention (Indonesia example), which can create short-term volatility in affected markets and raises governance/public-relations risk around index actions. Luhut Preps Recommendations to Improve Market After MSCI Freeze

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered MSCI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. 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 report on Wednesday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group set a $638.00 price target on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $659.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total transaction of $348,454.08. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 15,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,904,006.90. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $536.17 per share, with a total value of $1,227,829.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 335,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $179,653,945.73. This represents a 0.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

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.