Franklin Resources Inc. Has $106.51 Million Stock Holdings in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Franklin Resources cut its stake in Moody’s by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 208,491 shares valued at about $106.5 million.
• Moody’s reported Q1 earnings of $4.33 per share, beating estimates, while revenue came in at $2.08 billion and rose 8.1% year over year. The company also maintained FY 2026 guidance of $16.40 to $17.00 EPS.
• Moody’s paid a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share and saw recent insider selling, including transactions by SVP Richard G. Steele and CEO Robert Fauber. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $544.29.

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 26.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 208,491 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 76,596 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Moody's worth $106,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Moody's during the second quarter worth $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Moody's during the third quarter worth $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Moody's during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

MCO opened at $450.90 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $78.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.32, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.35. 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 50-day moving average price of $448.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $469.72. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The firm 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 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. Equities analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 Moody's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,067,397.71. 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 sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Moody's from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Moody's from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $544.29.

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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