Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $758.91 Million Stock Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs reduced its stake in Moody’s by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, but still held 1,485,585 shares worth about $758.9 million.
• Moody’s reported strong quarterly earnings, with EPS of $4.33 beating estimates, and revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $2.08 billion. The company also reiterated FY 2026 EPS guidance of $16.40 to $17.00.
• Despite some insider selling and modestly lower price targets from a few analysts, Moody’s maintains a Moderate Buy consensus rating, and the company will pay a $1.03 quarterly dividend on June 5.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,485,585 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 105,574 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.83% of Moody's worth $758,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business'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 approximately $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 1,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Moody's Price Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $448.59 on Thursday. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.37 billion, a PE ratio of 32.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $446.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $470.59.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. The firm's revenue 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. Research analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 29.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Moody's from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Moody's from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Moody's from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $544.29.

More Moody's News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moody's this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s will host a June 8 Q&A session focused on its generative AI strategy, including partnerships and product innovation. That could reassure investors that the company is investing in higher-growth, technology-enabled offerings. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain moderately optimistic on MCO, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and price targets above the current share price, which may help support the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Moody’s chief economist warning that a potential Iran war could cost U.S. households about $100 billion is more of a macro commentary than a direct company-specific catalyst, so its stock impact is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales by CEO Robert Fauber and SVP Richard Steele may create a modest negative signal, even though both transactions were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s has lagged the broader broker-dealers and securities exchanges group over the past year, and that relative underperformance may be keeping some investors cautious. Article Title

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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