Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Acquired by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 210.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,735 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,176 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Moody’s were worth $886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 298,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $142,041,000 after acquiring an additional 10,434 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 39.0% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 15,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,209,000 after purchasing an additional 4,247 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 5.4% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 316,969 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $151,029,000 after purchasing an additional 16,099 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 24.5% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 23,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,186,000 after purchasing an additional 4,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 78.3% during the fourth quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 5,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,505 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:MCO opened at $447.63 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $450.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $467.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.09, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue 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 forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MCO. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 price target on Moody’s in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $541.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 value of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. This trade 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.