Key Points
- MSCI CFO Andrew Wiechmann sold 450 shares for approximately $256,500 at $570 per share under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, reducing his holdings by 2.04%.
- MSCI’s latest quarterly results modestly missed analyst expectations, with EPS of $4.94 versus $4.99 expected and revenue of $867 million versus $870.71 million anticipated, although revenue grew 12.2% year over year.
- Analysts remain broadly bullish, with the stock holding a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $701.17; MSCI also pays a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, yielding about 1.5%.
MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) CFO Andrew Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.00, for a total value of $256,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,337,080. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
MSCI Price Performance
MSCI stock opened at $561.01 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $558.68 and its 200 day moving average is $575.03. The firm has a market cap of $40.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI Inc has a one year low of $501.08 and a one year high of $644.77.
MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $4.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.99 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $867.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $870.71 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 55.19%. The business's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 19.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
MSCI Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.86%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSCI shares. Evercore set a $722.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Friday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $760.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $662.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MSCI from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of MSCI from $690.00 to $685.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $701.17.
View Our Latest Report on MSCI
Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in MSCI in the third quarter valued at approximately $827,000. Krilogy Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the technology company's stock worth $809,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 96.9% during the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 1,321 shares of the technology company's stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 1,277 shares of the technology company's stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riversedge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $225,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.
MSCI News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:
- Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target to $685 from $700 but maintained an Overweight rating, implying substantial upside from recent levels. JPMorgan MSCI price target update
- Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also reduced its target, to $662 from $700, while retaining an Overweight rating. The continued bullish ratings suggest analysts view the recent weakness as an opportunity, despite more conservative target prices. Morgan Stanley MSCI price target update
- Positive Sentiment: A Zacks preview said MSCI has factors that could support an earnings beat in its upcoming report, providing a near-term catalyst. However, the company’s latest quarterly results slightly missed consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue, making execution important. MSCI earnings preview
- Neutral Sentiment: MSCI is scheduled to announce quarterly earnings, putting the stock in a wait-and-see position as investors assess revenue growth, recurring subscription trends, margins and management guidance. MSCI earnings announcement preview
- Neutral Sentiment: CFO Andrew Wiechmann sold 450 shares for approximately $256,500 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Because the sale was scheduled and represented only about 2% of his direct holdings, it is a limited signal rather than a clear change in management’s outlook. MSCI CFO insider sale
- Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted MSCI’s underperformance versus major equity benchmarks and noted that its valuation depends heavily on continued growth in index, analytics and data-related businesses. This may temper enthusiasm ahead of earnings. MSCI economic moat analysis
About MSCI
(
Get Free Report)
MSCI Inc is a global provider of investment decision-support tools and services for institutional investors, asset managers, banks, wealth managers and other financial professionals. The company is best known for its equity, fixed-income and multi-asset-class indexes, which are used as benchmarks and as the basis for investment products such as exchange-traded funds and other index-linked strategies.
In addition to indexes, MSCI provides portfolio analytics, risk-management and performance-measurement tools designed to help clients evaluate exposures, construct portfolios and manage investment risks.
Further Reading
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