ProShare Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in MSCI Inc $MSCI

ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,602 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,560 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $8,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in MSCI by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,996 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,992,000 after buying an additional 3,510 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in MSCI by 577.5% during the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 36,221 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,552,000 after acquiring an additional 30,875 shares during the last quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 0.6% in the third quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 3,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 253.0% in the third quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 3,202 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after acquiring an additional 2,295 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 91.2% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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: Index-review activity highlights MSCI’s central role in global markets and reinforces its recurring, subscription-and-licensing revenue model; the firm’s official February 2026 Index Review shows wide-ranging changes that underpin demand for MSCI’s data and index services. MSCI Equity Indexes February 2026 Index Review
• Positive Sentiment: Several high-profile additions (e.g., companies added to MSCI China and Global Standard indexes) typically generate predictable passive inflows into constituents, reinforcing MSCI’s influence on market flows and potentially supporting future demand for index licensing and analytics. Birla Capital, L&T Finance enter MSCI Index
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage emphasizes routine mechanical effects (passive funds buying/selling through Feb. 27 implementation) — these index mechanics drive volatility in constituents but do not directly change MSCI’s fee schedule or immediately boost reported revenue. Hesai, Pony AI’s Shares Rise After Being Added to MSCI China Index
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage noting specific company graduations to MSCI benchmarks illustrates the “index effect” window (buying by ETFs/trackers) — useful for trading opportunities in constituents but only an indirect signal for MSCI’s top-line momentum. Here Are the 3 Stocks That Just Graduated to the MSCI World Index
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that MSCI’s latest revamp tilts toward Chinese tech (including first-time robotaxi entrants like Pony.ai and other China-heavy additions) may raise investor concern about increased exposure to China-related regulatory and geopolitical risk, prompting some profit-taking or multiple compression for MSCI shares today. Index compiler MSCI tilts towards Chinese tech stocks in latest revamp
• Negative Sentiment: Elevated headline-driven trading and short-term volatility around implementation dates can pressure MSCI’s stock despite the company’s long-term subscription model — today’s drop appears tied to market digestion of the scope and regional mix of the changes plus broader profit-taking. China stocks win most MSCI index additions in nearly three years

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $512.44 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $573.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $566.38. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $486.73 and a fifty-two week high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $819.51 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 82.59% and a net margin of 38.36%.MSCI’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.26%.

MSCI declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, October 28th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $690.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $659.00.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other MSCI news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total transaction of $348,454.08. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 15,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,904,006.90. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 2,290 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $536.17 per share, with a total value of $1,227,829.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 335,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $179,653,945.73. This represents a 0.69% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.