UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $643.19 Million Stake in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,420,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,024 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $643,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 87.1% in the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 1,866.7% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total transaction of $710,468.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,166,165.20. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 3,092 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,682 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of MCO stock opened at $515.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.33. Moody’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $484.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $460.08.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MCO. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Moody’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $610.00 target price on the stock. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $553.61.

Moody’s Company 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.