Empowered Funds LLC Has $9.13 Million Stock Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 22.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,926 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,773 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $9,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,272,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,802,195,000 after acquiring an additional 102,682 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,965,480 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,019,551,000 after purchasing an additional 42,966 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,370,601 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,211,023,000 after purchasing an additional 62,798 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Moody’s by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,349,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,024,874,000 after purchasing an additional 72,043 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $1,097,101,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $484.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $83.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.72, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.33. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $474.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $459.55.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. Moody’s had a return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 34.25%.The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.56 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be 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 is Friday, August 14th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 26.13%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total transaction of $710,468.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,964 shares in the company, valued at $25,166,165.20. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 3,092 shares of company stock worth $1,447,682 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MCO. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $512.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $553.61.

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.