Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 3,377 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management cut its Moody’s stake by 44.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,377 shares and leaving it with 4,172 shares valued at about $2.13 million.
• Moody’s reported better-than-expected earnings of $4.33 per share on revenue of $2.08 billion, with revenue up 8.1% year over year; it also reaffirmed FY2026 EPS guidance of $16.40 to $17.00.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a target price of $544.29.

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 44.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,172 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,377 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $2,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,272,967 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,802,195,000 after acquiring an additional 102,682 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Moody's by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,375,768 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,213,661,000 after purchasing an additional 111,725 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Moody's by 6.7% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,447,105 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $689,517,000 after purchasing an additional 91,463 shares in the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 18.4% in the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,164,900 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $555,052,000 after purchasing an additional 181,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd raised its stake in Moody's by 1.9% in the third quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 1,122,423 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $534,812,000 after purchasing an additional 20,619 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

Moody's stock opened at $448.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $78.35 billion, a PE ratio of 32.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The business's 50-day moving average price is $447.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $475.18. Moody's Corporation has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Moody's's payout ratio is 29.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MCO. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Moody's from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $544.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $73,689.62. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,473.77. The trade was a 6.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,680 shares of company stock worth $3,952,188. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Company 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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