Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Buys 5,051 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Moody's by 375.3% in Q4, acquiring 5,051 shares and holding 6,397 shares valued at about $3.268 million.
• Moody's beat Q results with $3.64 EPS versus $3.39 expected and revenue up 13% year-over-year, and set FY2026 EPS guidance of 16.40–17.00.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03 (annualized $4.12, ~1.0% yield), while insiders sold 6,755 shares last quarter, including CEO Robert Fauber's sale of 5,213 shares.

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 375.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,397 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,051 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $3,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Moody's in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody's in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Moody's during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of Moody's stock opened at $432.61 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $464.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $483.66. Moody's Corporation has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The firm has a market cap of $77.00 billion, a PE ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. Moody's's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MCO. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Moody's in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $550.25.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.