MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. Invests $1.41 Million in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• MOKAN Wealth Management acquired a new stake of 2,769 shares in Moody's in Q4, valued at approximately $1.41 million.
• Analysts have trimmed price targets recently, but the consensus rating remains a Moderate Buy with an average target of $541.69.
• Insiders sold 8,222 shares last quarter (including CEO Robert Fauber's 5,213-share sale), while institutional investors own about 92.11% of the company's stock.

MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,769 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,414,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Moody's during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the second quarter worth $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MCO shares. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Moody's from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Moody's from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $541.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value 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. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 8,222 shares of company stock worth $3,786,732 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $438.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $77.99 billion, a PE ratio of 32.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.45. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The business's 50 day moving average price is $443.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $478.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody's had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.62 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

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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