Makena Capital Management LLC Has $19.72 Million Stake in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Makena Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 42.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 28,021 shares during the quarter. Moody’s comprises approximately 2.4% of Makena Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Makena Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $19,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BAM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter worth approximately $871,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Moody’s by 3.6% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 298,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $142,041,000 after buying an additional 10,434 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,942 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Moody’s by 135.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 45,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,837,000 after purchasing an additional 26,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Katamaran Capital LLP bought a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter worth $4,275,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $73,689.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,473.77. This represents a 6.87% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MCO. Weiss Ratings cut Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.29.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $450.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $78.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Moody’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $448.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $475.61.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued 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 company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.53%.

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.