Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Increases Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Landscape Capital Management boosted its Moody’s stake by 388.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 8,409 shares valued at about $4.3 million.
• Moody’s reported Q1 EPS of $4.33, beating analyst expectations, though revenue of $2.08 billion came in slightly below estimates; the company also reaffirmed FY 2026 EPS guidance of 16.4 to 17.0.
• Insiders have been selling shares recently, including CEO Robert Fauber and SVP Richard G. Steele, while Moody’s also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share for a 0.9% annualized yield.

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 388.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,409 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,688 shares during the quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $4,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Moody's during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $665,533.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,564 shares in the company, valued at $23,846,709.88. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. 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 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $448.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $78.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $448.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $469.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. Moody's Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Moody's from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $544.29.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MCO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.