Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 109,287 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 6.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,777,749 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 109,287 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 2.37% of MSCI worth $1,008,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the second quarter worth $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 47.0% during the 2nd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 97 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about MSCI

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings and momentum — MSCI beat modestly on EPS and revenue, highlighted AI adoption and non-U.S. growth on the earnings call, and the beat helped push the stock to a one-year high after results. MSCI (MSCI) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade / price-target lift — Evercore ISI raised its MSCI price target to $690 with an outperform rating, signaling more upside versus the current price and supporting investor confidence. MSCI price target raised at Evercore ISI
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns / yield support — MSCI was included in a list of recent dividend hikes, which can attract income-focused investors and modestly support the share price. Buy These 4 Stocks That Recently Announced Dividend Hikes
• Neutral Sentiment: Market-technical alert — Bank of America flagged that ~89% of MSCI indexes are in overbought territory; this is a breadth/technical signal that can increase short-term volatility in MSCI-linked funds and flows but doesn’t change MSCI’s underlying business metrics. 89% of MSCI Indexes Trigger Bank of America Overbought Signal
• Negative Sentiment: Indonesia fallout — MSCI’s market-access/ index commentary triggered a severe rout in Indonesian stocks, prompting the Indonesia Stock Exchange chief to resign; the episode highlights how MSCI index actions can cause extreme market moves and political/regulatory backlash that may create short‑term reputational risk. Indonesia stock exchange chief resigns after MSCI shock triggers market turmoil
• Negative Sentiment: Broader regulatory / PR risk — Multiple reports detail a 10% plunge in Jakarta, major wealth losses for Indonesian investors, and public scrutiny of MSCI’s transparency and index methodology; ongoing headlines or regulatory responses could produce short-term pressure on MSCI shares despite solid fundamentals. Jakarta index plunges as Goldman cuts rating after MSCI warning

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSCI news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $247,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Stock Up 0.1%

MSCI stock opened at $608.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.74 billion, a PE ratio of 38.80, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $573.22 and its 200 day moving average is $566.19. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $486.73 and a 12-month high of $621.38.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.51 million. MSCI had a net margin of 38.36% and a negative return on equity of 82.59%. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 28th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSCI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $715.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $655.00 price objective 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 issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $659.00.

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.