Pinebridge Investments LLC Invests $18.72 Million in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Pinebridge Investments LLC opened a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter, buying 36,636 shares worth about $18.7 million.
• Moody’s reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.33 per share, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $2.08 billion. The company also reaffirmed FY 2026 EPS guidance of $16.40 to $17.00.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $544.29.

Pinebridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 36,636 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $18,716,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 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 value of $684,194.13. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at $35,067,397.71. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $451.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.35. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $447.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $470.24. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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 currently 29.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCO. Barclays dropped their price objective on Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $544.29.

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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