Havemeyer Place LP Buys New Shares in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Havemeyer Place LP bought a new stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $812,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Moody’s during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the third quarter valued at $32,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $444.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $447.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $470.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.35. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $665,533.89. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,564 shares in the company, 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 three months, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, 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 research note on Thursday, February 19th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.