Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Bought by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 263,396 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,759 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned about 0.15% of Moody’s worth $134,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Moody’s by 1,222.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,499,000 after acquiring an additional 299,724 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in Moody’s by 340.0% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 283,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $135,198,000 after acquiring an additional 219,251 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 10,311.9% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 197,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,260,000 after acquiring an additional 195,926 shares in the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,164,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $555,052,000 after acquiring an additional 181,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $86,930,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $73,689.62. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,143 shares in the company, valued at $999,473.77. This trade represents a 6.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,680 shares of company stock worth $3,952,188. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.6%

Moody’s stock opened at $452.03 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $444.46 and its 200-day moving average is $472.04. 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 has a market cap of $78.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.37.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.53%.

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.