Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New $5.87 Million Investment in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Moody's, acquiring 12,324 shares valued at about $5.87 million in the third quarter.
• Moody's beat expectations with quarterly EPS of $3.64 vs. $3.39 expected and revenue of $1.89 billion (up 13% year‑over‑year), and it set FY2026 guidance of $16.40–$17.00 EPS.
• Moody's increased its quarterly dividend to $1.03 (annualized $4.12, ~0.9% yield), while insiders including CEO Robert Fauber sold shares (Fauber sold 5,213 shares), modestly reducing insider ownership.

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,324 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,872,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Moody's in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Moody's in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Moody's during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE MCO opened at $445.68 on Thursday. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $546.88. The company has a market capitalization of $79.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.58, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.45. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $485.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $489.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.62 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on Moody's in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group cut their target price on Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Moody's from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $550.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,613,594.19. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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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