Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 76,596 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 208,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 76,596 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $106,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.6% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 298,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $142,041,000 after acquiring an additional 10,434 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Moody’s by 39.0% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 15,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,209,000 after purchasing an additional 4,247 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Moody’s by 5.4% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 316,969 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $151,029,000 after purchasing an additional 16,099 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in Moody’s by 98.3% during the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 14,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,073,000 after purchasing an additional 7,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in Moody’s by 24.5% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 23,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,186,000 after purchasing an additional 4,625 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of MCO opened at $450.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $78.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.32, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $448.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $469.72.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business’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 $71,679.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 business’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 transaction of $665,533.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,846,709.88. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.29.

Moody’s Company 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.