Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 10.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 413,412 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 46,153 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.24% of Moody’s worth $187,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.3% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,810,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 1,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $889,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 623 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 497 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:MCO opened at $493.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $489.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $462.89. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.34.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.56 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.89 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 26.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MCO. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Moody’s from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Friday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $610.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $553.61.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total transaction of $710,468.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,166,165.20. This trade represents a 2.75% 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 this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.