Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Acquired by Johnson Financial Group Inc.

Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 15.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 20,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,667 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $8,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1,866.7% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $504.85 on Tuesday. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88. The stock has a market cap of $88.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.19, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $461.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $465.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Moody’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Moody’s from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.58.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, 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 accessible through this link. 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 that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at $35,067,397.71. This represents a 1.91% 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 3,250 shares of company stock worth $1,495,098. 0.14% of the stock is 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.