Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Bought by CIBC Asset Management Inc

CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 58.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,214 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,914 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $20,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at $1,097,101,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Moody’s by 1,222.0% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $154,499,000 after purchasing an additional 299,724 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in Moody’s by 340.0% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 283,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $135,198,000 after purchasing an additional 219,251 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 10,311.9% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 197,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,260,000 after purchasing an additional 195,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Windacre Partnership LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,164,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $555,052,000 after purchasing an additional 181,305 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO opened at $448.81 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $446.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $470.37. 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 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.41 billion, a PE ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.35.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued 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 is Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business’s 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% 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 have sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently 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 for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price target on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.29.

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.