MSCI Inc $MSCI Stock: Vontobel Holding Ltd. Cuts Position

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lowered its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 122,566 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 160,910 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned 0.17% of MSCI worth $66,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in MSCI by 200.0% in the third quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 48 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter worth $27,000. Compound Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter worth $34,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the first quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE MSCI traded down $7.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $567.85. The stock had a trading volume of 883,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 545,007. The stock has a market cap of $41.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI Inc has a 1 year low of $501.08 and a 1 year high of $644.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $558.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $575.34.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued 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 business had revenue of $867.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 19.55 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on MSCI in a research report on Friday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $760.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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 downgraded shares of MSCI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $662.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $701.17.

More MSCI News

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MSCI’s upcoming third-quarter results are expected to benefit from strong demand for indexes, ETF inflows and growth in private-capital products. Analysts at RBC anticipate a modest earnings beat, offering a potential near-term catalyst. MSCI earnings expectations
• Positive Sentiment: MSCI launched a consultation to move Indonesia’s indexes from emerging-market to standalone status, with a final decision expected by June 2027. Although disruptive for Indonesian markets, the process reinforces MSCI’s role as a key global benchmark provider and may increase attention to its index-governance services. MSCI Indonesia reclassification consultation
• Neutral Sentiment: MSCI is also consulting on new index-eligibility rules that could eventually remove Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, from some indexes. Existing constituents reportedly must fail eligibility screens across two consecutive annual filing periods, so the financial impact is not immediate. Strategy index eligibility proposal
• Neutral Sentiment: MSCI froze its Turkey indexes while market-access concerns remain under review. The action demonstrates stricter methodology enforcement but could create uncertainty for index-linked products and affected clients. MSCI Turkey index freeze
• Negative Sentiment: The Indonesia proposal has triggered a sharp sell-off in Indonesian equities and raised concerns about foreign outflows. The resulting criticism and political scrutiny may increase uncertainty around MSCI’s emerging-market franchise, even though the decision is still under consultation. MSCI Indonesia downgrade warning
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its MSCI price target from $700 to $662 while maintaining an Overweight rating. The cut reflects more cautious valuation expectations ahead of earnings, despite continued analyst support. MSCI price target reduction

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, CFO Andrew Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.00, for a total transaction of $256,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About MSCI

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.