Moody's Corporation $MCO is TRB Advisors LP's 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• TRB Advisors LP increased its stake in Moody’s by 200% in the fourth quarter, making the stock its 8th-largest holding. The position was valued at about $15.3 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Moody’s reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, with EPS of $4.33 topping estimates, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year. The company also issued FY 2026 EPS guidance of 16.40 to 17.00.
• The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, payable June 5, implying an annualized dividend of $4.12 and a 0.9% yield. Meanwhile, several analysts maintained mixed-to-positive views, with the consensus rating still at Moderate Buy.

TRB Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 200.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the quarter. Moody's accounts for about 3.6% of TRB Advisors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. TRB Advisors LP's holdings in Moody's were worth $15,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in Moody's in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $449.30 on Friday. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $443.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $472.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. The business'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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen cut Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Moody's from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Moody's from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $544.29.

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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