Jain Global LLC Acquires 4,310 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Jain Global LLC increased its stake in Moody's by 9.6%, acquiring 4,310 shares and bringing its holding to 49,334 shares valued at $23.507 million.
• Moody's beat expectations with Q results of $3.64 EPS vs. $3.39 expected and revenue of $1.89 billion (+13% YoY), and set FY2026 EPS guidance of $16.40–$17.00.
• Dividend and insider activity: Moody's raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03 ($4.12 annual, 1.0% yield) while insiders sold 6,755 shares (~$3.14M) recently, and institutional investors own 92.11% of the stock.

Jain Global LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 49,334 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,310 shares during the period. Jain Global LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $23,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Moody's in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Moody's during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Moody's stock opened at $429.91 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $482.19 and its 200 day moving average is $487.72. Moody's Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $546.88. The firm has a market cap of $76.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody's had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group dropped their price target 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, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating 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 given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $550.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This trade 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 a total of 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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