Insider Selling: MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) CFO Sells $252,000.00 in Stock

MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) CFO Andrew Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was 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 directly owned 22,544 shares in the company, valued at $12,624,640. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $552.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.19, a PEG ratio of 2.25 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $566.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $564.43.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business earned $4.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

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

Key Headlines 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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in MSCI by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,674,093 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,489,177,000 after acquiring an additional 165,851 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of MSCI by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,320,761 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,884,233,000 after acquiring an additional 39,450 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY raised its position in shares of MSCI by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,755,747 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,581,055,000 after acquiring an additional 361,630 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,467,556 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,415,713,000 after purchasing an additional 52,242 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,777,749 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,008,745,000 after purchasing an additional 109,287 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MSCI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial raised MSCI from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $710.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group set a $638.00 target price on MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $674.00.

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.