Short Interest in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Increases By 17.4%

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,307,776 shares, an increase of 17.4% from the February 12th total of 1,965,580 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,684,721 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,684,721 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCO traded up $8.62 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $441.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,109,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,632,766. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $478.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $486.69. Moody’s has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $78.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.45.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The business’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.62 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stance Capital LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 2,873 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,468,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 13,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,895,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 210.4% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,735 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $1,294,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Moody’s from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.25.

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.