Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 786,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,895 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $343,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Emmett Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth about $5,375,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 22.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,926 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,129,000 after buying an additional 3,773 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 104,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,486,000 after acquiring an additional 29,278 shares during the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 980.9% in the 1st quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 14,722 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,422,000 after purchasing an additional 13,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 5,102.9% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 286,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $124,860,000 after acquiring an additional 280,712 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:MCO opened at $483.14 on Thursday. Moody’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $467.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $463.37. The firm has a market cap of $83.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued 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 is Friday, August 14th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Moody’s from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $505.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Moody’s from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $553.61.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business’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 owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s 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.