The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 9.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,937 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,390 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $44,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,272,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,802,195,000 after purchasing an additional 102,682 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,965,480 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,551,000 after purchasing an additional 42,966 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,370,601 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,211,023,000 after buying an additional 62,798 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,349,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,024,874,000 after buying an additional 72,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $1,097,101,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.1%

MCO stock opened at $482.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company’s 50 day moving average is $468.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $463.02. The stock has a market cap of $83.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.60, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.34.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.42. Moody’s had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.56 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. Research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $553.61.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $665,533.89. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 52,564 shares in the company, valued at $23,846,709.88. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.