Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Lowers Stock Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,633 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $54,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter worth about $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 15.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 6.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,692,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.4% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,423,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $457.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $447.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $476.24. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The company has a market capitalization of $80.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.83, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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 expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 8,222 shares of company stock worth $3,786,732 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $489.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.29.

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.