Generate Investment Management Ltd Reduces Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Generate Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 11.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 33,885 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,479 shares during the quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $14,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Moody’s during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $447.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $450.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $467.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.35. Moody’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. The firm’s 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 research analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 29.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MCO. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 price objective on Moody’s in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $541.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.