Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 42,966 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its Moody’s stake by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 42,966 shares and lifting its holdings to 3,965,480 shares worth about $2.02 billion.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive on Moody’s, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.29, though several firms recently trimmed their targets or ratings.
• Moody’s reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $4.33 and raised its FY2026 guidance, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share payable on June 5.

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,965,480 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 42,966 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.22% of Moody's worth $2,019,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in Moody's by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 263,396 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $134,556,000 after purchasing an additional 3,759 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 16,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,121,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. bought a new position in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter worth about $321,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,618 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $544.29.

Moody's Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $450.58 on Friday. Moody's Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $445.02 and a 200-day moving average of $471.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $78.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.37.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody's had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. Moody's's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 29.53%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $73,689.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,143 shares in the company, valued at $999,473.77. The trade was a 6.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188. 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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