Moody’s Corporation $MCO Holdings Boosted by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 47,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,913 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $24,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Moody’s in the second quarter worth about $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 15.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 6.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,692,000 after buying an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.4% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,423,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 1.6%

Moody’s stock opened at $444.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $77.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.35. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $447.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $470.05.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Mizuho cut their price target on Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price target on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.29.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 Moody’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.