Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys New Stake in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 7,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,403,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the second quarter worth about $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Moody’s by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,692,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.4% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $450.40 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $450.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $466.72. 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 $78.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.35. 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 (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 Moody’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $565.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $541.83.

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.