Rehmann Capital Advisory Group Trims Stock Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lessened its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 32.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,476 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter worth $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Moody’s during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Moody’s during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO traded up $4.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $430.82. The stock had a trading volume of 148,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,379,663. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. The business has a fifty day moving average of $483.56 and a 200 day moving average of $488.60. The company has a market cap of $76.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.45.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 30.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the firm’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 $2,380,829.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of Moody’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 value of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCO. UBS Group dropped their price target on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.25.

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.