Leonteq Securities AG Buys Shares of 3,107 Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Leonteq Securities AG disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Moody’s, buying 3,107 shares valued at about $1.59 million.
• Moody’s reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $4.33 EPS versus the $4.22 estimate, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $2.08 billion.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share and saw insider selling, including CEO Robert Fauber’s sale of 1,467 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,107 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,587,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Moody's by 1,222.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $154,499,000 after acquiring an additional 299,724 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Moody's by 340.0% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 283,744 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $135,198,000 after acquiring an additional 219,251 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Moody's by 10,311.9% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 197,826 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $94,260,000 after acquiring an additional 195,926 shares during the period. Windacre Partnership LLC lifted its holdings in Moody's by 18.4% in the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,164,900 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $555,052,000 after acquiring an additional 181,305 shares during the period. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at about $86,930,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE MCO opened at $445.14 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $443.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $472.80. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $402.28 and a 52 week high of $546.88. The company has a market capitalization of $77.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.37.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 last year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $73,689.62. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $999,473.77. This represents a 6.87% 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. Insiders have sold 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $489.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $544.29.

Moody's 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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