Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Purchased by Holocene Advisors LP

Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 340.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 283,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 219,251 shares during the quarter. Holocene Advisors LP owned approximately 0.16% of Moody’s worth $135,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BAM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at about $871,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in 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 worth $308,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,942 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Moody’s by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 73,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,202 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Moody’s by 135.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 45,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,837,000 after acquiring an additional 26,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Katamaran Capital LLP purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,275,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $429.91 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $482.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $487.72. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.62 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Moody’s from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.25.

Moody’s Company 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.