Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Acquires 1,417 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,536 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $7,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $1,097,101,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $395,096,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Moody’s by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,716,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $876,775,000 after purchasing an additional 726,971 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 72.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,081,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $471,963,000 after purchasing an additional 454,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in Moody’s by 50,985.1% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 420,430 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $214,777,000 after purchasing an additional 419,607 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Moody’s News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moody’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s latest quarterly report topped expectations, with strong revenue growth and raised guidance helping reinforce the company’s earnings momentum. Moodys Corp (MCO) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue Growth and Raised Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Clear Street reiterated its Buy rating on Moody’s, adding to the view that the company’s business remains fundamentally sound after earnings. Clear Street Sticks to Their Buy Rating for Moody’s (MCO)
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple commentary pieces highlighted Moody’s strong Q2 performance and reaffirmed bullish views, citing solid fundamentals and continued earnings strength. Moody’s Corporation: Strong Q2, I Reiterate My Buy Rating As Fundamentals Are Still Sound
• Neutral Sentiment: Moody’s also released its quarterly dividend announcement, which is supportive for income investors but not likely a major near-term stock catalyst. Moody’s Corporation dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focused on valuation, noting that Moody’s may look expensive relative to fair value despite the earnings beat, which could temper upside. Moody’s (MCO) Stock Looks Expensive Relative To Fair Value
• Negative Sentiment: Investor attention is also on broader concerns about valuation after the earnings beat, with some coverage suggesting the stock’s premium pricing may limit further gains. Moody’s (MCO) Earnings Beat Puts Valuation Back In Focus

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 3,250 shares of company stock worth $1,495,098 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $505.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised Moody’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 price target on Moody’s in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Moody’s from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $553.11.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $471.30 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $465.04 and its 200 day moving average is $464.36. 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 $81.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 34.25%.Moody’s’s revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.56 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.13%.

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.