Caprock Group LLC Acquires New Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,188 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,243,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSCI. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in MSCI during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI during the third quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the company’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 approximately $8,904,006.90. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,901,450. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $526.21 on Friday. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $486.73 and a 12-month high of $626.28. The stock has a market cap of $38.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.54, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $573.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $565.94.

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

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

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.26%.

Trending Headlines about 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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MSCI. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $715.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $690.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $659.00.

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.