Schroder Investment Management Group Raises Holdings in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Moody's by 0.5% to 498,844 shares (about 0.28% of the company) valued at $237.7 million, and institutional ownership totals 92.11% with large positions and recent moves from firms like Norges Bank and Vanguard.
• CEO Robert Fauber and other insiders sold a combined 6,755 shares this quarter (Fauber sold 5,213 shares for roughly $2.38 million), trimming insider ownership to about 0.14%.
• Moody's topped quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and set FY2026 guidance of $16.40–$17.00 EPS; Wall Street consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $550.25, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03.

Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 498,844 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,503 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.28% of Moody's worth $237,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $987,524,000. Generation Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the second quarter worth $135,968,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,006,997 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,527,360,000 after buying an additional 191,368 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Moody's by 223.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 102,126 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,225,000 after acquiring an additional 184,598 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Moody's by 91.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 235,237 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $117,987,000 after acquiring an additional 112,105 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 owned 75,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MCO shares. Bank of America started coverage on Moody's in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $610.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Moody's from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned 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 $550.25.

Moody's Stock Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $472.14 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.51, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $488.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $490.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.62 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend 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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