Sarasin & Partners LLP Sells 14,507 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Sarasin & Partners trimmed its Moody's stake by 3.4%, selling 14,507 shares and now holds 412,752 shares worth about $210.85 million (0.23% of Moody's), making MCO its 19th-largest holding.
• Moody's beat Q4 estimates with $3.64 EPS (vs. $3.39) and $1.89B revenue (up 13% YoY), set FY2026 guidance of $16.40–$17.00 EPS, and carries an average analyst price target of $550.25 with a "Moderate Buy" consensus.
• Insiders have been selling recently—CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares for ~$2.38M and insiders sold 6,755 shares (~$3.14M) in the last 90 days—while Moody's raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03 (annualized $4.12, 0.9% yield).

Sarasin & Partners LLP lowered its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 412,752 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 14,507 shares during the quarter. Moody's comprises 2.2% of Sarasin & Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned approximately 0.23% of Moody's worth $210,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the second quarter worth $267,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its stake in Moody's by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 53,738 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,954,000 after buying an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in Moody's by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 32,310 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $16,206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,891 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management lifted its position in Moody's by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,221 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Journey Strategic Wealth LLC lifted its position in Moody's by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 612 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Moody's from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays reduced 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $550.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moody's Stock Down 0.3%

MCO stock opened at $434.37 on Friday. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $77.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.45. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $472.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $485.39.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody's had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.62 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

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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