HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in MSCI Inc $MSCI

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,966 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 5,496 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $47,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 15.8% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 67,411 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,250,000 after purchasing an additional 9,199 shares during the last quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. acquired a new position in MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at $227,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in MSCI by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,175 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 16,641 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,442,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the third quarter valued at about $3,191,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 $8,904,006.90. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $247,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 19,300 shares of company stock valued at $10,261,957. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

More MSCI News

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MSCI CEO Henry Fernandez bought shares (6,000 shares at ~$524.18 on Feb. 13 and an additional 800 shares at ~$518.95 on Feb. 17), increasing his stake. Insider buys by a CEO are typically viewed as a vote of confidence in the company’s outlook and can support the stock. SEC Form 4
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America initiated coverage with a “Buy” and $700 price target (implies ~34% upside from recent levels), which can attract buyer interest and boost sentiment among institutional investors. (coverage noted 2/17/2026)
• Positive Sentiment: MSCI recently raised its quarterly dividend to $2.05 and has an active $3.0 billion share buyback authorization (up to ~7.1% of shares). Both moves are shareholder-friendly and support total-return investors. MarketBeat summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple outlets are reporting the insider purchases (AmericanBankingNews, InsiderTrades, Investing.com, MarketBeat). These are largely repetitive confirmations of the same SEC filings rather than new, distinct catalysts. InsiderTrades report
• Negative Sentiment: Technical/headwinds: MSCI is trading below both its 50-day (~$572.68) and 200-day (~$565.49) moving averages, which can create short-term selling pressure from technical traders and algos despite the positive fundamentals. Price & technicals

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MSCI from $590.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $690.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on MSCI in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 target price for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $671.78.

MSCI Stock Down 0.9%

MSCI stock opened at $521.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.32 billion, a PE ratio of 33.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $486.73 and a 52 week high of $626.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $572.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $565.49.

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

MSCI announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, October 28th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. The ex-dividend date 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%.

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.