Hingham Institution for Savings Acquires Shares of 2,500 Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Hingham Institution for Savings bought a new stake of 2,500 shares in Moody's (~$1.277 million), making it the fund's 10th largest holding (about 1.0%); overall institutional investors own roughly 92.11% of MCO.
• Analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with a $544.47 average target after several price-target updates, and Moody's beat Q results while setting FY2026 EPS guidance of 16.40–17.00.
• Insiders sold shares recently (including the CEO and an SVP, with 8,222 shares worth ~$3.79M sold over 90 days and insiders now owning 0.14%), and Moody's declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share (annualized $4.12, yield ~0.9%, ex-dividend May 15).

Hingham Institution for Savings acquired a new stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,500 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,277,000. Moody's makes up approximately 1.0% of Hingham Institution for Savings' holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Moody's in the second quarter valued at $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Moody's by 15.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,475,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Moody's by 6.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $736,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Moody's by 3.8% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,692,000 after buying an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Moody's by 0.4% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,423,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Moody's from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $544.47.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,222 shares of company stock worth $3,786,732 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody's Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $456.59 on Monday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $446.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $476.64. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The firm has a market cap of $79.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.83 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 16.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Moody's Company Profile

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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