Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Acquired by Xponance LLC

Xponance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,621 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares during the quarter. Xponance LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $21,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were 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 $23,846,709.88. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 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 approximately $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $441.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. 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 simple moving average of $448.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $469.45. The company has a market cap of $77.17 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.35.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis 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 currently 29.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.