Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Has $2.42 Million Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 41.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCO. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 1,222.0% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $154,499,000 after acquiring an additional 299,724 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 340.0% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 283,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $135,198,000 after acquiring an additional 219,251 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 10,311.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 195,926 shares during the period. Windacre Partnership LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 18.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 181,305 shares during the period. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,930,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $450.94 on Friday. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $448.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $475.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.78 billion, a PE ratio of 32.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.37.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MCO. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.29.

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.