Deutsche Bank AG Sells 107,452 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG cut its Moody’s stake by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 107,452 shares and leaving it with 701,008 shares worth about $358.1 million.
• Moody’s reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $4.33 beating estimates, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $2.08 billion. The company also reaffirmed FY2026 EPS guidance of $16.40 to $17.00.
• The company continues to return cash to shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, or $4.12 annually, for a yield of about 0.9%. Insider selling was also noted, including shares sold by CEO Robert Fauber and SVP Richard G. Steele.

Deutsche Bank AG lowered its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 701,008 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 107,452 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.39% of Moody's worth $358,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 298,104 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $142,041,000 after acquiring an additional 10,434 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 15,130 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,209,000 after acquiring an additional 4,247 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 316,969 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $151,029,000 after acquiring an additional 16,099 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 98.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 14,845 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,073,000 after acquiring an additional 7,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 23,476 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $11,186,000 after acquiring an additional 4,625 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 NYSE MCO opened at $450.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $78.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Moody's Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The stock's 50-day moving average is $448.40 and its 200 day moving average is $469.72.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. Moody's's revenue for the quarter 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

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 stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings cut Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Moody's from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Moody's from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report 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 given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

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