Moody's Corporation $MCO Position Increased by QRG Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its stake in Moody's by 17% to 15,630 shares (worth about $7.99M), while other institutions like Two Sigma, Holocene, Balyasny and Windacre also made large additions, leaving institutional investors with 92.11% ownership.
• Moody's reported an EPS beat of $4.33 vs. $4.22 and revenue of $2.08B (slightly below estimates), and issued FY2026 guidance of 16.40–17.00 EPS
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 (annualized $4.12, yield 0.9%; ex-dividend May 15, payable June 5), while insiders including the CEO and an SVP sold shares recently, leaving insiders with just 0.14% ownership.

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,630 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,268 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $7,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 1,222.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $154,499,000 after acquiring an additional 299,724 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Moody's by 340.0% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 283,744 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $135,198,000 after purchasing an additional 219,251 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 10,311.9% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 197,826 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $94,260,000 after purchasing an additional 195,926 shares during the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 18.4% during the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,164,900 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $555,052,000 after purchasing an additional 181,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $86,930,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $454.64 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Moody's Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $448.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $475.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.59, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.37.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody'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 $73,689.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $999,473.77. This trade represents a 6.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 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 in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $544.29.

Moody's 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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