Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. Takes Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 11,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,161,000. Moody’s makes up about 1.5% of Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth approximately $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Moody’s by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,692,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Moody’s by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,423,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $484.38 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 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. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $474.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $459.09. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. The firm 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%.The company’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.56 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid 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 payout ratio is 26.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s 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 value of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total transaction of $710,468.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 51,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,166,165.20. The trade was a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 3,092 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,682 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MCO. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Friday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $610.00 price objective on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $553.61.

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.