Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Buys 5,362 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailySwiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO – Free Report) by 14.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,362 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $19,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter worth $30,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Moody’s Trading Down 0.6%
NYSE:MCO opened at $436.06 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $474.74 and a 200-day moving average of $486.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $77.62 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $546.88.
Moody’s (NYSE:MCO – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.62 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Moody’s Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.
Insider Activity at Moody’s
In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.25.
View Our Latest Research Report on MCO
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.
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