Sei Investments Co. Buys 26,329 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Moody’s by 11.4% in the first quarter, buying 26,329 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 256,458 shares worth about $111.9 million.
• Moody’s reported a strong second quarter, with EPS of $4.68 and revenue of $2.19 billion, both above expectations and up 15.1% from a year earlier. Management also raised its stock repurchase outlook and reaffirmed FY 2026 EPS guidance of 16.50 to 17.00.
• The stock has attracted mixed signals: analysts are mostly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $553.11, but investors are watching lowered 2026 operating margin guidance and recent insider sales. Shares were down 3.5% in the article, trading around $472.42.

Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 11.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 256,458 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 26,329 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.15% of Moody's worth $111,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 87.1% during the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody's in the second quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Moody's by 1,866.7% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new position in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Moody's News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moody's this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s beat second-quarter expectations, reporting $4.68 EPS on $2.19 billion of revenue, with sales up 15.1% year over year. Management also raised its stock repurchase outlook, which signals confidence in cash generation and capital returns. Moodys Corp (MCO) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue Growth and Raised Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue growth was supported by stronger bond issuance activity and steady demand for Moody’s analytics business, reinforcing the company’s “wide moat” positioning and durable growth profile. MCO Q2 Earnings Beat on Rising Analytics Demand & Higher Issuances
• Neutral Sentiment: Moody’s reaffirmed its FY 2026 EPS outlook of 16.50 to 17.00, which is broadly in line with Street expectations and suggests management sees continued stability after the strong quarter. Moody's (MCO) Tops Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, underscoring shareholder returns, but this is a routine capital-allocation update rather than a major catalyst. Moody's declares $1.03 dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appear focused on Moody’s lowered 2026 operating margin guidance, which raises concerns that costs may be offsetting some of the company’s revenue strength and helps explain why the shares have been under pressure despite the earnings beat. Moody's lowers 2026 operating margin guidance, raises stock repurchases outlook

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm'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 sale, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $665,533.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,846,709.88. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 3,250 shares of company stock worth $1,495,098. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $472.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $82.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.96, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $464.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $464.75.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.56 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 16.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Friday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $610.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Moody's from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $505.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $553.11.

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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