Grove Bank & Trust Sells 1,612 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Grove Bank & Trust trimmed its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 45.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,949 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,612 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about MSCI

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James upgraded MSCI to a “Strong‑Buy” with a materially higher target, which can lift demand from retail and institutional investors and support short‑term upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: MSCI’s recent results and payout actions reinforce cash generation: the company beat Q4 estimates on EPS and revenue and recently raised its quarterly dividend (annualized $8.20), improving income investor appeal and signaling confidence in free cash flow. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Corporate customers continue to reference MSCI benchmarks in marketing and rankings (e.g., Cushman & Wakefield), underscoring ongoing demand for MSCI’s index and data services that drive recurring license revenue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: MSCI research on geopolitical index exposures (e.g., commentary about Iran‑related risks) raises awareness of index composition risks; this increases media attention but doesn’t directly change MSCI’s revenue model. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several fund commentaries and letters (e.g., Longleaf, Columbia, Goldman Sachs fund notes) reference MSCI benchmarks; routine visibility in manager reports confirms the firm’s central role but is unlikely by itself to move fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: MSCI CFO Andrew Wiechmann sold 450 shares (~$560 avg) on Mar 17, reducing his holding by ~1.96%. While small in scale relative to his remaining stake, insider selling can create short‑term negative sentiment for some investors. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Evercore lifted their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $715.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MSCI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of MSCI from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $710.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $674.00.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $552.11 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $566.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $564.43. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $486.73 and a 52 week high of $626.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.56 billion, a PE ratio of 35.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.29.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 82.59% and a net margin of 38.36%.The firm had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.18 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,624,640. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $524.18 per share, for a total transaction of $3,145,080.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,047 shares in the company, valued at $782,625,376.46. The trade was a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.