Sacks & Associates LLC Buys New Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Sacks & Associates LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 7,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,252,000. Moody’s accounts for 2.3% of Sacks & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Moody’s by 3.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,349,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,024,874,000 after purchasing an additional 72,043 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,420,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $643,191,000 after buying an additional 33,024 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,081,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $471,963,000 after acquiring an additional 454,684 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,011,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $458,126,000 after acquiring an additional 168,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Moody’s by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 882,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,188,000 after acquiring an additional 59,121 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE MCO opened at $464.32 on Friday. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $402.28 and a 52 week high of $546.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The company has a market capitalization of $80.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $478.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $465.16.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. Moody’s had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 26.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $419,965.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,370,620. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective (up from $565.00) on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $505.00 price objective (up from $490.00) on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $588.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Moody’s from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.42.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, and analytical tools. Through Moody’s Ratings, the company evaluates the creditworthiness of companies, governments, financial institutions, and structured finance securities, offering opinions and research used by investors, issuers, and other market participants.

Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, risk assessment tools, data, and software. Its products support credit and market risk management, compliance, portfolio analysis, lending, insurance, and corporate planning.

Moody’s traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody published an analysis of railroad securities.