Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio trimmed its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 35,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,419 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $17,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE MCO opened at $456.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $448.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $476.01. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88. The company has a market capitalization of $79.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.73, a PEG ratio of 2.45 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the business’s 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 directly owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.77, for a total transaction of $642,208.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,489 shares in the company, valued at $33,046,819.53. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 7,630 shares of company stock worth $3,481,172 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.29.

About Moody’s

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.