Kentucky Retirement Systems Boosts Stake in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 60.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,628 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,868 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Moody's were worth $6,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Moody's in the second quarter worth $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody's by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,475,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Moody's by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,692,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Moody's by 0.4% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $483.14 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $83.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Moody's Corporation has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $467.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $463.37.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 34.25%.Moody's's revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.56 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 16.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is 26.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Moody's from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $512.00 target price on Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Moody's from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $553.61.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $665,533.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,846,709.88. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 3,250 shares of company stock worth $1,495,098 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently 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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