2,484 Shares in Moody’s Corporation $MCO Bought by Dearborn Partners LLC

Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,484 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,125,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,810,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.2% in the third quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 1,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $889,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 535 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% during the first quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 623 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $509.30 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $483.57 and its 200 day moving average is $459.69. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The firm has a market cap of $88.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.30, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. Moody’s had a return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 34.25%.The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.89 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $505.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $610.00 price target for the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $553.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total value of $710,468.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,166,165.20. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 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 directly owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This trade represents 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. Insiders have sold a total of 3,092 shares of company stock worth $1,447,682 in the last quarter. 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.