Sei Investments Co. Purchases 166,159 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 401,396 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 166,159 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $191,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BAM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $871,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,942 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,202 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 135.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 45,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,837,000 after acquiring an additional 26,388 shares during the period. Finally, Katamaran Capital LLP bought a new stake in Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,275,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $425.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $75.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $546.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $483.56 and a 200-day moving average of $488.60.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.62 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.12%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays reduced 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 note on Monday, February 23rd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Moody’s from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.25.

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.