Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 6,244 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 169,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,244 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $80,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BAM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $871,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 647,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $308,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,202 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased 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 buying an additional 26,388 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp raised its holdings in Moody’s by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,574,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,291,568,000 after buying an additional 35,123 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $472.14 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $488.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $490.12. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $546.88.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.25.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.