Belpointe Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 2,878 Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Belpointe Asset Management acquired a new stake of 2,878 shares of Moody's in Q4, valued at approximately $1.47 million according to its latest 13F filing.
• Moody's beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $3.64 (consensus $3.39) and revenue of $1.89B (consensus $1.87B), and set FY2026 EPS guidance of $16.40–17.00 (analyst consensus ~$16.68).
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03 (annualized $4.12, yield ~0.9%), while insiders sold 8,222 shares (~$3.79M) over the last three months and institutional ownership is about 92.11%.

Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,878 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,470,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Performance

Moody's stock opened at $460.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $82.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's 50 day moving average is $443.84 and its 200 day moving average is $477.24. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.62 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 16.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.77, for a total transaction of $642,208.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,489 shares in the company, valued at $33,046,819.53. This trade represents a 1.91% 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 a total of 8,222 shares of company stock worth $3,786,732 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Moody's from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Moody's from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Moody's from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $541.69.

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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