Strategic Global Advisors LLC Buys 4,100 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Strategic Global Advisors LLC boosted its Moody’s stake by 28.2% in the fourth quarter, adding 4,100 shares to reach 18,625 shares valued at about $9.5 million.
• Institutional interest in Moody’s remains high, with investors owning 92.11% of the stock and major firms like Norges Bank and Egerton Capital UK LLP taking large new positions.
• Moody’s reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $4.33 that beat estimates, and it recently paid a $1.03 quarterly dividend, which annualizes to $4.12 per share.

Strategic Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 28.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,625 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Moody's comprises approximately 1.5% of Strategic Global Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Strategic Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $9,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $1,097,101,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new stake in Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $395,096,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Moody's by 315.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 417,782 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $213,424,000 after acquiring an additional 317,245 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Moody's by 1,222.0% during the third 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. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 219,251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $565.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $544.29.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at $35,067,397.71. The trade was 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 sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moody's Price Performance

Moody's stock opened at $448.12 on Monday. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88. The stock's 50 day moving average is $448.68 and its 200-day moving average is $469.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a market capitalization of $78.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.35.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

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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