Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 16.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,202,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 244,994 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $614,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $449.30 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $444.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $472.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.37.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. 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 presently 29.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,680 shares of company stock worth $3,952,188 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCO. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $489.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $565.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.29.

Moody’s 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.