The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Holdings in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its Moody’s stake by 9.3% in the first quarter, selling 10,390 shares and retaining 100,937 shares valued at approximately $44 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.11% of MCO.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with Moody’s holding a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $553.61. Recent targets range from $505 to $597.
• Moody’s reported quarterly EPS of $4.68, exceeding expectations of $4.26, while revenue rose 15.1% year over year to $2.19 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, representing a 0.9% annualized yield.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 9.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 100,937 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 10,390 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.06% of Moody's worth $44,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Moody's by 87.1% in the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 1,866.7% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $505.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Moody's from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Moody's from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Moody's from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $553.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $665,533.89. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 52,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,846,709.88. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $482.55 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $468.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $463.02. The stock has a market cap of $83.58 billion, a PE ratio of 30.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.34. Moody's Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.56 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 16.82 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is 26.13%.

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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