AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Sells 14,752 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc trimmed its stake in Moody's by 14.5%, selling 14,752 shares in Q4 and now holds 86,856 shares valued at about $44.37 million.
• Company insiders have recently sold stock — SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares and CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan — with insiders offloading 8,222 shares (~$3.79M) in the last 90 days; insiders own 0.14% of the company.
• Moody's beat quarterly EPS estimates ($4.33 vs. $4.22), set FY2026 guidance of 16.40–17.00 EPS, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 (annualized $4.12, ~0.9% yield).

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc trimmed its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,856 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 14,752 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings in Moody's were worth $44,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCO. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Moody's during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's in the third quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Moody's in the third quarter worth $30,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Moody's in the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's in the third quarter worth $38,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.77, for a total value of $642,208.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,489 shares in the company, valued at $33,046,819.53. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. 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 have sold 8,222 shares of company stock worth $3,786,732 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $456.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.45. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $446.32 and a 200 day moving average of $476.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during 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%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 16.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Moody's from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Daiwa Securities Group raised Moody's from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Moody's from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $489.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $544.47.

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.

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