Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA cut its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,450 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,311 shares during the quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $5,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. grew its stake in Moody’s by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. now owns 19,732 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,129,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Income Insurance Ltd acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $245,000. Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 34,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,396,000 after acquiring an additional 1,098 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. EWA LLC now owns 535 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 7,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,967,000 after acquiring an additional 1,870 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $73,689.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,143 shares in the company, valued at $999,473.77. The trade was a 6.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 8,680 shares of company stock worth $3,952,188 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $450.94 on Monday. Moody’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $448.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $475.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCO. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.29.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.