Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Takes $572,000 Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. acquired a new position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $572,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. VestGen Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.0% in the second quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 4.4% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 501 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,383,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 1,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.4% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 693 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Moody’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat on both EPS and revenue — non‑GAAP EPS $3.64 (beat) and revenue $1.89B, with revenue up ~13% year‑over‑year; management pointed to strength in Analytics and Moody’s Investors Service. Moody’s Non‑GAAP EPS of $3.64 beats
• Positive Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance of $16.40–$17.00 EPS was issued and sits marginally above consensus, providing forward earnings clarity that buoyed sentiment. Benzinga: What’s Going On With Moody’s
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America initiated coverage with a “Buy” and a $550 price target, giving an incremental analyst catalyst and a sizable upside target relative to recent levels. Finviz: Bank of America initiation
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic expansion — Moody’s opened a regional HQ in Riyadh to deepen Middle East presence, supporting long‑run revenue growth opportunities in accelerating local capital markets. BusinessWire: Moody’s Establishes Regional Headquarters
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call materials and transcript are available for detailed read‑throughs of segment performance, op‑ex cadence and M&A/tech investment plans — useful for investors but not a single short‑term catalyst. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus is roughly a “Moderate Buy,” indicating broadly positive but not unanimous conviction among sell‑side firms. AmericanBankingNews: Analyst Recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary flagged recent share weakness and cautioned that prior pullbacks were expected, indicating lingering investor skepticism on valuation despite the beat. SeekingAlpha: The Drop Was Expected
• Negative Sentiment: Operating expenses rose (management noted higher costs to scale new technologies), which could temper margin expansion if costs persist. Zacks: Q4 Earnings Beat (expenses note)

Moody’s Stock Up 6.3%

Moody’s stock opened at $450.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $546.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $498.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $494.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.44.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.92% and a return on equity of 63.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.62 EPS. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 30.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.90, for a total transaction of $286,867.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,473,809.80. This trade represents a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MCO. Mizuho raised their price objective on Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.75.

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.