Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Lowers Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,384 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $31,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,473.77. The trade was a 6.87% 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 3,092 shares of company stock worth $1,400,092. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 2.6%

Moody’s stock opened at $464.84 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $445.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $471.14. The company has a market cap of $81.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.35. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. 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 (NYSE:MCO) last released 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. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price target on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $565.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.29.

About Moody’s

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.