Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Lowers Stock Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA lessened its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 23.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,968 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,482 shares during the period. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in 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 valued at $142,041,000 after buying an additional 10,434 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 15,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,209,000 after buying an additional 4,247 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP raised its position in Moody’s by 78.3% during the 4th quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 5,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,913,000 after buying an additional 2,505 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Moody’s by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 218,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $111,796,000 after buying an additional 48,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 41,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,924,000 after acquiring an additional 5,362 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $489.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The stock has a market cap of $85.53 billion, a PE ratio of 35.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $452.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $466.21.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. The business’s revenue 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 16.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $565.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 target price on Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $541.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $665,533.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,846,709.88. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.