Generate Investment Management Ltd Sells 4,479 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Generate Investment Management Ltd cut its Moody’s stake by 11.7% in the first quarter, selling 4,479 shares and leaving it with 33,885 shares valued at about $14.8 million.
• Moody’s reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.33 per share, though revenue of $2.08 billion came in slightly below estimates. Revenue still rose 8.1% year over year, and the company guided FY 2026 EPS to 16.4-17.0.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, equal to an annualized dividend of $4.12 and a yield of 0.9%. Meanwhile, analysts remain constructive overall, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $541.83.

Generate Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 11.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,885 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,479 shares during the period. Generate Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Moody's were worth $14,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 2nd quarter valued at about $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 15.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,475,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 6.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 3.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,692,000 after buying an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 0.4% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,423,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Moody's stock opened at $447.63 on Tuesday. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $450.28 and its 200 day moving average is $467.85. The company has a market cap of $78.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.35.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Mizuho reduced their target price on Moody's from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Moody's from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 price target on Moody's in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $541.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $665,533.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,846,709.88. This represents a 2.72% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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