Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Bought by Auto Owners Insurance Co

Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 50,985.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 420,430 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 419,607 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co owned about 0.24% of Moody's worth $214,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,097,101,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new stake in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $395,096,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 73.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,716,304 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $876,775,000 after purchasing an additional 726,971 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 315.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 417,782 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $213,424,000 after purchasing an additional 317,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Employees Provident Fund Board acquired a new position in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth $153,255,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $451.20 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $450.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $468.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. Moody's Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody's had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.83 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $541.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other Moody's news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business'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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $665,533.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 52,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,846,709.88. This represents a 2.72% 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 worth $2,137,306 in the last ninety days. 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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