PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 3,842 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 138,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,842 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $70,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,272,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,802,195,000 after acquiring an additional 102,682 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,375,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,213,661,000 after acquiring an additional 111,725 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,447,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $689,517,000 after acquiring an additional 91,463 shares during the period. Windacre Partnership LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,164,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $555,052,000 after acquiring an additional 181,305 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 1,122,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $534,812,000 after acquiring an additional 20,619 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody’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 $73,689.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,143 shares in the company, valued at $999,473.77. The trade was a 6.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $445.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $443.46 and a 200-day moving average of $472.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $77.77 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.37. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. Moody’s’s quarterly 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $489.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.29.

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.