Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $164.67 Million Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 330,018 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,049 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $164,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Moody’s by 3.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,692,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Moody’s by 0.4% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,423,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $448.60 on Thursday. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The company has a market cap of $78.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $448.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $475.70.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during 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 prior year, the firm posted $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.29.

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.