Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires 132,096 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 124.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 238,234 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 132,096 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.14% of Moody's worth $103,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Moody's by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,272,967 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,802,195,000 after acquiring an additional 102,682 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Moody's by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,965,480 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,019,551,000 after purchasing an additional 42,966 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Moody's by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,375,768 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,213,661,000 after purchasing an additional 111,725 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,370,601 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,211,023,000 after purchasing an additional 62,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 3.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,349,281 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,024,874,000 after purchasing an additional 72,043 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody's News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Moody's this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s latest quarterly report topped expectations, with strong revenue growth and raised guidance helping reinforce the company’s earnings momentum. Moodys Corp (MCO) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue Growth and Raised Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Clear Street reiterated its Buy rating on Moody’s, adding to the view that the company’s business remains fundamentally sound after earnings. Clear Street Sticks to Their Buy Rating for Moody’s (MCO)
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple commentary pieces highlighted Moody’s strong Q2 performance and reaffirmed bullish views, citing solid fundamentals and continued earnings strength. Moody's Corporation: Strong Q2, I Reiterate My Buy Rating As Fundamentals Are Still Sound
• Neutral Sentiment: Moody’s also released its quarterly dividend announcement, which is supportive for income investors but not likely a major near-term stock catalyst. Moody's Corporation dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focused on valuation, noting that Moody’s may look expensive relative to fair value despite the earnings beat, which could temper upside. Moody's (MCO) Stock Looks Expensive Relative To Fair Value
• Negative Sentiment: Investor attention is also on broader concerns about valuation after the earnings beat, with some coverage suggesting the stock’s premium pricing may limit further gains. Moody's (MCO) Earnings Beat Puts Valuation Back In Focus

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Moody's from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $512.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Moody's from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $553.11.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was 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. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $665,533.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,846,709.88. This trade represents a 2.72% 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 sold a total of 3,250 shares of company stock worth $1,495,098 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of Moody's stock opened at $471.30 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $465.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $464.80. Moody's Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.34.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. Moody's had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.56 EPS. Moody's's quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 16.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 26.13%.

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.

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