World Investment Advisors Grows Stake in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

World Investment Advisors raised its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 210.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,735 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,176 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Moody’s were worth $886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BAM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at $871,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.6% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 298,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $142,041,000 after purchasing an additional 10,434 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 647,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $308,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 135.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 45,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,837,000 after purchasing an additional 26,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Katamaran Capital LLP bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at $4,275,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 3.4%

MCO stock opened at $443.34 on Tuesday. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The business’s 50-day moving average is $444.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $473.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $77.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.37.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s’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. As a group, analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business 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 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 29.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 8,680 shares of company stock worth $3,952,188 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.