University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. Trims Stake in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. cut its Moody’s stake by 87.2% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 1,005 shares worth about $513,000.
• Moody’s recently reported better-than-expected earnings of $4.33 per share, while revenue came in at $2.08 billion, slightly below Wall Street estimates but still up 8.1% year over year.
• The company continues to be viewed favorably by analysts, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $544.29; Moody’s also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share.

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. reduced its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 87.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,005 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,819 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,272,967 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,802,195,000 after purchasing an additional 102,682 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,965,480 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,019,551,000 after purchasing an additional 42,966 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 4.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,370,601 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,211,023,000 after purchasing an additional 62,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,097,101,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $468.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.93 billion, a PE ratio of 33.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.35. 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 $449.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $468.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The firm 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other Moody's news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, 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 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 that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold a total of 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Moody's from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $544.29.

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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