Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 102,682 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Moody's by 102,682 shares in Q4 to 15,272,967 shares, representing an 8.56% ownership valued at about $7.80 billion.
• Moody's beat quarterly EPS estimates ($4.33 vs. $4.22) while revenue was slightly below expectations at $2.08 billion, set FY2026 EPS guidance of 16.40–17.00, and declared a $1.03 quarterly dividend (annual $4.12, ~0.9% yield).
• Analyst sentiment is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $544.47 (consensus: 1 Strong Buy, 13 Buy, 5 Hold) amid recent target revisions by major brokers.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,272,967 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 102,682 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.56% of Moody's worth $7,802,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Moody's during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Moody's in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the third quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Moody's from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays cut their price objective on Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on Moody's in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Moody's from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Moody's from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $544.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,222 shares of company stock valued at $3,786,732. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

Moody's stock opened at $456.59 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $446.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $476.64. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. 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 company has a market cap of $79.77 billion, a PE ratio of 32.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.45.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 16.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 29.53%.

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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