MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Morgan Stanley

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $700.00 to $662.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the technology company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of MSCI from $690.00 to $685.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of MSCI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $730.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Evercore set a $722.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $701.17.

MSCI Stock Up 2.4%

MSCI stock opened at $574.25 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $558.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $575.40. The stock has a market cap of $41.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI has a 12-month low of $501.08 and a 12-month high of $644.77.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $4.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.99 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $867.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $870.71 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 55.19% and a net margin of 40.74%. MSCI’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MSCI will post 19.55 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSCI news, CFO Andrew Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the 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 approximately $12,337,080. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 3.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,062,626,000. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in MSCI during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,798,710,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in MSCI by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,446,291 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $829,781,000 after purchasing an additional 168,405 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in MSCI during the second quarter valued at approximately $480,613,000. Finally, Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in MSCI during the second quarter valued at approximately $301,493,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key MSCI News

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC expects MSCI to deliver a modest third-quarter beat, with strong index revenue providing support. Analysts also expect benefits from ETF inflows, index demand and growth in private-capital products, although sustainability-related weakness could offset some gains. RBC MSCI third-quarter earnings preview
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple earnings previews point to growth in revenue and key operating metrics for the quarter ended September, creating a near-term catalyst ahead of MSCI’s report. Investors will focus on recurring subscription growth, margins and management guidance. MSCI third-quarter earnings outlook
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan maintained an Overweight rating while trimming its price target to $685 from $700, and Morgan Stanley likewise retained an Overweight view despite lowering its target to $662. The ratings indicate continued confidence in MSCI’s long-term earnings outlook. JPMorgan MSCI price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: MSCI’s CFO sold 450 shares for approximately $256,500 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction reduced his direct holdings by about 2%, making it a limited signal about management’s outlook. MSCI CFO insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: MSCI froze its Turkey indexes and is consulting on reclassifying Indonesia from emerging-market to standalone status, citing investability concerns. The moves reinforce MSCI’s index-governance role but could reduce the affected markets’ representation in global benchmarks and potentially pressure related index-linked revenue. A final Indonesia decision is expected by the end of June 2027. MSCI Indonesia market reclassification consultation

MSCI Company Profile

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.