Katamaran Capital LLP Boosts Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Katamaran Capital LLP lifted its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 112.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,214 shares during the period. Moody’s comprises 3.5% of Katamaran Capital LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Katamaran Capital LLP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. DeDora Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 753 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $494.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $456.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.47. The firm has a market cap of $86.45 billion, a PE ratio of 35.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.34.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.53%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCO. 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 report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.06.

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.