Prudential PLC Decreases Stock Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Prudential PLC cut its Moody’s position by 75.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 19,916 shares and leaving it with 6,402 shares valued at about $3.27 million.
• Moody’s reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $4.33 versus estimates of $4.22, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $2.08 billion.
• The company continues to return cash to shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share and a recent annualized yield of about 0.9%, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $544.29.

Prudential PLC lessened its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 75.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,402 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 19,916 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $3,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of Moody's stock opened at $451.54 on Friday. Moody's Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The company has a market cap of $78.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The business's 50 day moving average price is $447.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $470.24.

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

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Moody's from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays decreased their target price on Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Moody's from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $544.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm'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 sale, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This trade 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 quarter, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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