NewEdge Advisors LLC Purchases 3,667 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 65.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,667 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Moody’s by 15.5% in the 2nd 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. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised 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 worth $12,692,000 after buying an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted 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 period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 10,602 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MCO stock opened at $478.44 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88. The stock has a market cap of $82.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $473.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $459.62.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. The company’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.56 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Friday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $610.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $553.61.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total value of $710,468.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,166,165.20. The trade was a 2.75% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,092 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,682. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.