Johnson Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Johnson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,645,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCO. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 15.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,475,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 6.2% in the 2nd 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 increased its position in Moody’s by 3.8% in the 2nd 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 raised its stake in Moody’s by 0.4% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.1%

Moody’s stock opened at $448.59 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $446.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $470.59. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The company has a market cap of $78.37 billion, a PE ratio of 32.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%.Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.29.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Moody’s News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moody’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s will host a June 8 Q&A session focused on its generative AI strategy, including partnerships and product innovation. That could reassure investors that the company is investing in higher-growth, technology-enabled offerings. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain moderately optimistic on MCO, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and price targets above the current share price, which may help support the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Moody’s chief economist warning that a potential Iran war could cost U.S. households about $100 billion is more of a macro commentary than a direct company-specific catalyst, so its stock impact is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales by CEO Robert Fauber and SVP Richard Steele may create a modest negative signal, even though both transactions were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s has lagged the broader broker-dealers and securities exchanges group over the past year, and that relative underperformance may be keeping some investors cautious. Article Title

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.