Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Cuts Stock Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH cut its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 189,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,994 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $96,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BAM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter worth about $871,000. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Moody’s by 3.6% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 298,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $142,041,000 after purchasing an additional 10,434 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 0.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 647,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $308,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Moody’s by 3.1% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 73,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Moody’s by 135.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 45,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,837,000 after purchasing an additional 26,388 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $460.86 on Wednesday. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The company has a market cap of $82.04 billion, a PE ratio of 33.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $443.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $477.24.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.40 by ($0.07). Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCO. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Moody’s from $660.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $541.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 8,222 shares of company stock valued at $3,786,732 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.