Allen Investment Management LLC Sells 8,942 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Allen Investment Management LLC trimmed its Moody’s position by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,942 shares and leaving it with 719,920 shares valued at about $367.8 million.
• Moody’s reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.33 topping estimates, though revenue of $2.08 billion came in slightly below consensus; revenue still rose 8.1% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share and has received a generally positive analyst outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.29.

Allen Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 719,920 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,942 shares during the period. Moody's accounts for about 4.1% of Allen Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Allen Investment Management LLC owned about 0.40% of Moody's worth $367,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth $434,000. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Moody's by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Moody's by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 219 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. BNP Paribas increased its position in shares of Moody's by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 14,330 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,320,000 after acquiring an additional 3,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its position in shares of Moody's by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 7,092 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,623,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $464.84 on Tuesday. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The business's fifty day moving average price is $445.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $471.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.21 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.35.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MCO. Barclays reduced 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. Wall Street Zen cut Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Moody's from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $544.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $73,689.62. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $999,473.77. The trade was a 6.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business's 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 owned 75,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,092 shares of company stock worth $1,400,092. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Moody's 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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