QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $7.99 Million Stake in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in Moody’s by 1,222.0% in 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. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 340.0% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 10,311.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 18.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $86,930,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays cut their target price on Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.29.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $454.64 on Wednesday. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $448.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $475.85. 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 cap of $79.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.37.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid 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 presently 29.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the sale, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.