Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $318.25 Million Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 666,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $318,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at about $267,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in Moody’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 4.9% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 11.0% in the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 856 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 44.5% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $472.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $488.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $490.12. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $546.88. The company has a market capitalization of $84.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.45.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.25.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.