MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Receives $674.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $665.8889.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSCI. Bank of America started coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of MSCI from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $710.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on MSCI from $618.00 to $545.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday.

Key Headlines Impacting MSCI

Here are the key news stories impacting MSCI this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New ETF built on an MSCI factor shows ongoing licensing and index demand — VanEck launched VEFA, an ETF explicitly constructed using MSCI’s EAFE analyst‑sentiment factor, which underscores recurring revenue opportunities from index/benchmark licensing and data partnerships. VanEck Launches VEFA: ETF Built on MSCI EAFE Analyst Sentiment Factor
• Positive Sentiment: MSCI indexes are moving markets — MSCI’s Asia Pacific Index gained as regional equities rallied, indicating that flows and benchmark tracking remain drivers of market activity and demand for MSCI products. Positive index performance can support recurring licensing and ETF usage tied to MSCI benchmarks. Global Market Check | Asian shares edge higher as volatile week draws to an end
• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory and market reforms in emerging markets tied to MSCI criteria could expand investable universes — Indonesia is flagging tightly held companies and signaling reforms aimed at meeting MSCI standards, potentially increasing future index inclusion and related licensing/data demand. Indonesia Flags Tightly Held Companies in Effort to Satisfy MSCI
• Neutral Sentiment: Indonesia says its stock‑market reform drive is complete after February selloffs — a stabilization step that may remove a near‑term source of volatility for index tracking but has an uncertain direct revenue impact for MSCI. Indonesia says stock market reform drive completed after Feb’s selloffs
• Neutral Sentiment: Country reclassifications (Greece returning to developed‑market indices) highlight MSCI’s influence on capital flows — reclassification increases relevance of MSCI’s methodology but may have mixed effects on index revenues depending on turnover and client rebalancing. Global Markets | Greek stocks set for MSCI developed market return by 2027, marking post-crisis milestone
• Neutral Sentiment: MSCI benchmarks continue to be used as performance yardsticks — a fund letter cited the MSCI US REIT Index in performance comparisons, reflecting ongoing benchmark utility but limited direct news impact on MSCI’s revenues. Baron Real Estate Income Fund’s Q4 2025 Investor Letter
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price‑target cut signals reduced near‑term upside — Wells Fargo lowered its MSCI price target to $545 and set an “equal weight” rating, indicating more conservative near‑term expectations that could weigh on sentiment despite fundamental strength. Benzinga

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares in the company, valued at $12,624,640. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $524.18 per share, with a total value of $3,145,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,493,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $782,625,376.46. The trade was a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSCI

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 341.7% in the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $543.78 on Tuesday. MSCI has a 52 week low of $486.73 and a 52 week high of $626.28. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $555.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $562.54. The company has a market cap of $39.95 billion, a PE ratio of 34.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.30.

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, beating 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 quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MSCI will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is 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.