Sterling Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 39.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,220 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,455 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in MSCI by 7.6% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in MSCI by 39.0% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,724,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in MSCI by 20.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 1.0% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 35,130 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,261,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the second quarter worth approximately $88,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other MSCI news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total value of $5,920,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. This represents a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSCI. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $730.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings cut MSCI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $690.00 target price on MSCI in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised MSCI from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $650.00 to $700.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $697.00.

MSCI Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $556.63 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $591.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $572.62. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $501.08 and a 52 week high of $644.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.52 billion, a PE ratio of 31.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.38 by $0.17. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 65.48%. The company had revenue of $850.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $830.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 46.83%.

MSCI News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MSCI said it will acquire climate-risk data and analytics provider First Street for $120 million in cash, expanding its physical climate-risk capabilities and adding property-level and geospatial data tools that could strengthen its long-term product offering. MSCI to acquire climate risk data company First Street
• Neutral Sentiment: MSCI also drew attention for its role in ongoing index classification debates, with new coverage focused on South Korea’s market status and why MSCI still considers it an emerging market. These articles are more about MSCI’s benchmark methodology and may support the company’s visibility, but they are not a direct earnings driver. South Korea Has the World’s Hottest Stock Market: Why Does MSCI Still Call It ‘Emerging’?
• Negative Sentiment: Shares fell as investors weighed whether the First Street deal will deliver enough near-term return on investment, especially amid broader weakness in growth and market-data names. The move came despite MSCI’s recent quarter showing solid revenue and run-rate growth, suggesting the decline is more sentiment- and valuation-driven than tied to a fundamental miss. MSCI slides as investors weigh new acquisition against broader growth-stock pressure

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.