Reflection Asset Management Purchases New Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,756,000. Moody’s comprises about 1.2% of Reflection Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,097,101,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $395,096,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Moody’s by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,716,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $876,775,000 after buying an additional 726,971 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Moody’s by 315.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 417,782 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $213,424,000 after buying an additional 317,245 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Moody’s by 1,222.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,499,000 after buying an additional 299,724 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a 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 dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% 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 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $451.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $78.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $450.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $468.26. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued 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. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $541.83.

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.