Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB trimmed its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 2.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 67,214 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,664 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $29,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sage Rhino Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 173.2% in the 1st quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 3,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after buying an additional 2,056 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Moody’s by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 6,640 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,949,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 131.7% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,163 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Moody’s by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,855,000 after acquiring an additional 2,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 34,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,075,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This trade represents 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. Insiders sold 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $485.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $84.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $454.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $466.04. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.83 EPS. The business’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. Analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 29.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $491.00 to $496.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $543.67.

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.