Vanderbilt University purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO – Free Report) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 7,940 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,464,000. Moody’s makes up 0.7% of Vanderbilt University’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.
Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,272,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,802,195,000 after acquiring an additional 102,682 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,965,480 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,551,000 after purchasing an additional 42,966 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Moody’s by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,375,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,213,661,000 after purchasing an additional 111,725 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake 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 period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $1,097,101,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $541.83.
Moody’s Stock Performance
Shares of MCO opened at $450.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88. The company’s fifty day moving average is $450.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $467.24.
Moody’s (NYSE:MCO – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.83 EPS. 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 earnings per share for the current year.
Moody’s Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.53%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $665,533.89. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,846,709.88. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold a total of 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
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.
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