Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Makes New Investment in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,624 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,191,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSCI. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 7.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,724,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in MSCI by 8.5% in the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 268 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in MSCI by 6.8% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 867 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on MSCI shares. UBS Group set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore boosted their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $655.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $659.00.

MSCI Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $526.21 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $38.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.54, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $573.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $565.99. MSCI Inc has a twelve month low of $486.73 and a twelve month high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.04. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 82.59% and a net margin of 38.36%.The company had revenue of $822.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.18 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be 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 is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 52.26%.

MSCI announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Key Stories Impacting MSCI

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha highlights a 13.9% dividend increase and continued double-digit growth outlook for MSCI, a direct positive for income and total-return investors. MSCI: 13.9% Dividend Hike And Double-Digit Growth
• Positive Sentiment: MSCI-driven index additions in major markets (example: Aditya Birla Capital and L&T Finance added to MSCI Global Standard Index) are expected to trigger sizable passive flows into the included stocks, underscoring the commercial importance of MSCI’s index decisions and supporting its recurring-fee franchise. Birla Capital, L&T Finance enter MSCI Index
• Positive Sentiment: MSCI’s increased exposure to Chinese tech in recent revamps (and resulting market moves) illustrates the firm’s influence on global flows and index composition, which can sustain demand for MSCI’s index products and data services. China Stocks Climb as MSCI Boosts Exposure
• Positive Sentiment: Ongoing trend of adding crypto-related and microcap names to MSCI indexes (examples reported this week) demonstrates expanding coverage breadth and keeps MSCI at the center of passive rebalances — a structural tailwind for its indexing and data business. Another crypto firm joins MicroStrategy in MSCI index
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts note MSCI inclusions tend to spur foreign investor interest into affected markets — a market dynamic that benefits index users and validates MSCI’s market impact, but doesn’t directly change MSCI’s revenue mix in the short term. MSCI inclusions to spur foreign interest – analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly/annual commentary (Baron Fund note and coverage summaries) describes MSCI as holding steady amid macro and market challenges — supportive context but not a near-term stock mover on its own. MSCI (MSCI) Held Steady Amid Challenges
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/political friction surfaced after an MSCI “freeze” prompted government attention (Indonesia example), which can create short-term volatility in affected markets and raises governance/public-relations risk around index actions. Luhut Preps Recommendations to Improve Market After MSCI Freeze

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 2,290 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 335,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $179,653,945.73. This represents a 0.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total value of $348,454.08. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 15,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,904,006.90. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Profile

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.