Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 69,127 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,825 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $35,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. BAM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $871,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 298,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $142,041,000 after purchasing an additional 10,434 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Moody’s by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 647,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $308,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Moody’s by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 73,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,161,000 after buying an additional 2,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Moody’s by 135.7% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MCO. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.25.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of MCO stock opened at $436.41 on Wednesday. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $546.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $458.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $481.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.

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.