Militia Capital Management LLC Takes $643,000 Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Militia Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,475 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $643,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,097,101,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 78.3% during the 4th quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 5,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,913,000 after buying an additional 2,505 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 806.7% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 9,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,031,000 after purchasing an additional 8,220 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA lifted its stake in Moody’s by 5,179.4% in the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 38,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,796,000 after buying an additional 38,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 514,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $262,769,000 after acquiring an additional 143,515 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,846,709.88. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was 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 $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MCO. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $512.00 price objective on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $553.61.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $478.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company’s fifty day moving average is $469.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $462.63. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.33.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.42. Moody’s had a return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 34.25%.The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.56 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.82 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.13%.

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.