Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by TD Asset Management Inc

Key Points

• TD Asset Management cut its Moody’s stake by 28.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 175,505 shares and leaving it with 440,704 shares valued at about $225.1 million.
• Moody’s posted better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, with EPS of $4.33 beating estimates, though revenue of $2.08 billion came in slightly below forecasts.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, implying an annualized payout of $4.12 and a yield of about 0.9%.

TD Asset Management Inc trimmed its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 28.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 440,704 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 175,505 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc owned about 0.25% of Moody's worth $225,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Stock Down 1.1%

Moody's stock opened at $448.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $78.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.16, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company's 50-day moving average price is $446.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $470.59. Moody's Corporation has a 52 week low of $402.28 and a 52 week high of $546.88.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. Moody's's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Key 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

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MCO. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $544.29.

About Moody's

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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