Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its Moody’s stake by 5.3% in the first quarter, selling 19,445 shares and leaving it with 345,042 shares valued at about $150.5 million.
• Moody’s recently beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $4.33 per share versus the $4.22 consensus, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $2.08 billion.
• Analysts remain generally bullish on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $543.67, even as some insiders have sold shares in recent months.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 345,042 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 19,445 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of Moody's worth $150,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Moody's during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $486.66 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $85.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.34. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $454.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $465.92.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Moody's from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $565.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $543.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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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