XXEC Inc. Trims Stake in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

XXEC Inc. lessened its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,850 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,502 shares during the quarter. Moody’s makes up about 5.9% of XXEC Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. XXEC Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $6,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 15.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 6.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Moody’s by 3.8% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,692,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.4% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,423,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $451.20 on Friday. Moody’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The company has a market cap of $78.82 billion, a PE ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $450.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $468.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

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

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut their price target on Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. 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. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $541.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. 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 have sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.