Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 16,099 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 316,969 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,099 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $151,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at $267,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 30.0% during the second quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 620 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $260,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 798 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 24.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 11,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,672,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 592 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.15, for a total transaction of $305,560.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,527,474.30. The trade was a 0.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $479.59 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $494.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $492.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $85.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.44. Moody’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The company’s revenue 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, research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.25.

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.