Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 105,574 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,485,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 105,574 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $758,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 1,154 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,166 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $434,000. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $808,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 219 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on 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. Weiss Ratings lowered Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.29.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE MCO opened at $448.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $78.37 billion, a PE ratio of 32.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.35. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $446.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $470.59. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Trending Headlines about Moody’s

Here are the key news stories impacting Moody’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s will host a June 8 Q&A session focused on its generative AI strategy, including partnerships and product innovation. That could reassure investors that the company is investing in higher-growth, technology-enabled offerings. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain moderately optimistic on MCO, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and price targets above the current share price, which may help support the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Moody’s chief economist warning that a potential Iran war could cost U.S. households about $100 billion is more of a macro commentary than a direct company-specific catalyst, so its stock impact is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales by CEO Robert Fauber and SVP Richard Steele may create a modest negative signal, even though both transactions were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s has lagged the broader broker-dealers and securities exchanges group over the past year, and that relative underperformance may be keeping some investors cautious. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.