Moody’s Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:MCO)

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 4,144 call options on the company. This is an increase of 544% compared to the average daily volume of 643 call options.

Moody’s Trading Down 2.0%

MCO stock traded down $9.34 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $468.59. The company had a trading volume of 209,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,079,266. The stock has a market cap of $81.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 2.47 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $490.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $464.37. Moody’s has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.56 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Moody’s will post 16.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 26.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,964 shares in the company, valued at $25,166,165.20. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 623 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 497 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 87.1% during the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MCO. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 target price on Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Moody’s from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $512.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $553.61.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytical tools. Through Moody’s Ratings, the company evaluates the creditworthiness of governments, companies, financial institutions and debt securities, helping investors and other market participants assess credit risk. Its ratings and related research cover a broad range of fixed-income markets and structured finance products.

Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides economic and financial intelligence, risk-management software, data, quantitative models and advisory services.