Maestria Partners LLC Buys Shares of 40,000 Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Maestria Partners LLC opened a new position in Moody’s, buying 40,000 shares worth about $17.45 million. The stake represents roughly 6.4% of Maestria’s portfolio and is its 8th-largest holding.
• Moody’s reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, with EPS of $4.33 beating estimates, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $2.08 billion. The company also issued FY2026 EPS guidance of $16.40 to $17.00.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, equal to $4.12 annually and a yield of about 0.9%. Meanwhile, analysts remain generally constructive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $541.83.

Maestria Partners LLC bought a new position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 40,000 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $17,450,000. Moody's makes up about 6.4% of Maestria Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Moody's in the second quarter worth $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Moody's during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 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 $71,679.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $451.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock's 50-day moving average is $450.09 and its 200-day moving average is $468.13. The company has a market cap of $78.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.35. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. The firm'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. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. 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 payout ratio is 29.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 price target on Moody's in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One research 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $541.83.

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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