Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Key Points

• Daiwa Securities Group increased its stake in Moody’s by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 31,319 shares valued at about $16 million.
• Insiders sold shares recently, including SVP Richard G. Steele and CEO Robert Fauber, both through pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Over the past three months, insiders sold 4,717 shares worth about $2.14 million.
• Moody’s reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.33 topping estimates and revenue rising 8.1% year over year, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,319 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,554 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $15,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Moody's by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,272,967 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,802,195,000 after purchasing an additional 102,682 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,965,480 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,019,551,000 after acquiring an additional 42,966 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,375,768 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,213,661,000 after acquiring an additional 111,725 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at $1,097,101,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,447,105 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $689,517,000 after acquiring an additional 91,463 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $665,533.89. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,846,709.88. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $451.54 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $447.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $470.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Moody's Corporation has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The company has a market cap of $78.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.35.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.83 EPS. The company's 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 expect that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays cut 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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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