Moody’s Corporation $MCO Holdings Trimmed by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 345,042 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 19,445 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $150,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Moody’s by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 298,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $142,041,000 after purchasing an additional 10,434 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP raised its position in Moody’s by 78.3% during the fourth quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 5,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after buying an additional 2,505 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Moody’s by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 218,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $111,796,000 after buying an additional 48,240 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $1,097,101,000. Finally, LBP AM SA boosted its position in Moody’s by 5,179.4% during the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 38,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,796,000 after acquiring an additional 38,017 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MCO. Wall Street Zen cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $543.67.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of MCO opened at $486.66 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $454.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $465.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.34. Moody’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

About Moody’s

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.