Sei Investments Co. Purchases 166,159 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 401,396 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 166,159 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.22% of Moody’s worth $191,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Moody’s during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 4.6%

Shares of MCO opened at $425.43 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $483.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $488.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $546.88. The company has a market cap of $75.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.45.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 30.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MCO. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average 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.