Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Los Angeles Capital Management cut its Moody’s stake by 39.7% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 5,257 shares valued at about $2.52 million.
• Several other institutional investors adjusted positions in Moody’s, and hedge funds and institutions still own 92.11% of the company’s shares.
• Moody’s reported Q1 earnings of $4.33 per share, topping expectations, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year; the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share.

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 39.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,257 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,454 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $2,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the second quarter worth $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 15.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 6.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $12,692,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $36,423,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Moody's from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $544.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 value of $665,533.89. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 52,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,846,709.88. The trade was a 2.72% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Moody's Price Performance

Moody's stock opened at $449.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $78.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.35. The firm's fifty day moving average is $448.02 and its 200 day moving average is $469.88. 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.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody's had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The company 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 firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. Moody's's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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