National Pension Service Has $262.77 Million Stock Holdings in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Moody’s position by 38.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 514,377 shares valued at about $262.77 million.
• Moody’s has seen continued institutional interest, with several hedge funds and asset managers raising stakes; overall, 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Analysts remain broadly positive despite some price-target cuts, with Moody’s carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and a consensus price target of $544.29.

National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 38.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 514,377 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 143,515 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.29% of Moody's worth $262,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the second quarter valued at about $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 15.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 6.2% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 3.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,692,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 0.4% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,423,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $565.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $544.29.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 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 $73,689.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,143 shares in the company, valued at $999,473.77. The trade was a 6.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of MCO stock opened at $452.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $79.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.43, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $445.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $471.43. 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 fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.83 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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

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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