Diversify Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stake in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Diversify Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 90.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 975 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,924 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 363 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. increased its position in Moody’s by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 753 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its holdings in Moody’s by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, EWA LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 4.4% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 501 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $450.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $448.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $475.61. The company has a market capitalization of $78.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.37.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One investment 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $73,689.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,473.77. This trade represents a 6.87% 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 have sold 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188 over the last 90 days. 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.