Covea Finance Purchases 3,260 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Covea Finance boosted its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,647 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the quarter. MSCI comprises approximately 1.1% of Covea Finance’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Covea Finance owned about 0.08% of MSCI worth $32,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSCI. Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 388 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 1,873 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Keel Point LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 622 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,059,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in MSCI by 189.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,056 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 6,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $524.18 per share, with a total value of $3,145,080.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,493,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $782,625,376.46. This trade represents a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition 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 business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,624,640. The trade was a 1.96% 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 Performance

NYSE MSCI opened at $552.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.57 billion, a PE ratio of 35.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $486.73 and a 52-week high of $626.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $566.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $564.35.

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

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $2.05 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.26%.

Key Stories Impacting 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

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.