Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY Boosts Stock Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY raised its holdings by 36.9% in Moody's during the third quarter, buying an additional 63,920 shares to hold 237,297 shares (about $113.1M), making MCO its 21st largest position and 1.8% of the firm's portfolio.
• Moody's beat estimates and raised guidance: the company reported $3.64 EPS (vs. $3.39 expected) and revenue up 13% to $1.89B, set FY2026 EPS guidance of $16.40–$17.00, and increased its quarterly dividend to $1.03 ($4.12 annualized).
• Market and insider activity: MCO shares were trading down (~4.6%) with a market cap of ~$75.7B and a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" (avg. price target $550.25), while insiders sold roughly 6,755 shares (~$3.14M) in recent months.

Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY raised its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 36.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 237,297 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 63,920 shares during the quarter. Moody's accounts for 1.8% of Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY owned approximately 0.13% of Moody's worth $113,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new position in Moody's during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Moody's in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Moody's in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Trading Down 4.6%

Shares of MCO stock opened at $425.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.10, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.45. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $483.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $488.60. 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 current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody's had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.62 earnings per share. Moody's'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, analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Moody's from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Moody's from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $550.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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