Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its stake in Moody's by 6.4% to 189,370 shares (about 0.11% of the company), worth roughly $96.8 million at quarter-end.
• Moody's reported quarterly EPS of $4.33, missing estimates by $0.07 while revenue rose 8.1% year-over-year, and set FY2026 guidance of 16.40–17.00 EPS; analysts' consensus price target is about $541.69 with an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Insiders have been selling (CEO sold 1,467 shares under a Rule 10b5-1 plan and insiders sold 8,222 shares in the past 90 days), while the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03 (annualized $4.12, yield ~0.9%).

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lessened its holdings in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,370 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 12,994 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.11% of Moody's worth $96,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Moody's during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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 report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group lowered 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 report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Moody's in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $541.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.77, for a total value of $642,208.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,046,819.53. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,222 shares of company stock worth $3,786,732. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Moody's Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of MCO stock opened at $460.86 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $443.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $477.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $82.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.45. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.40 by ($0.07). Moody's had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The company's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.83 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 16.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors 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 0.9%. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

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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