Militia Capital Management LLC Takes $643,000 Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Militia Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,475 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $643,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,692,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.4% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,423,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Moody’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s beat second-quarter expectations, reporting $4.68 EPS on $2.19 billion of revenue, with sales up 15.1% year over year. Management also raised its stock repurchase outlook, which signals confidence in cash generation and capital returns. Moodys Corp (MCO) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue Growth and Raised Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue growth was supported by stronger bond issuance activity and steady demand for Moody’s analytics business, reinforcing the company’s “wide moat” positioning and durable growth profile. MCO Q2 Earnings Beat on Rising Analytics Demand & Higher Issuances
• Neutral Sentiment: Moody’s reaffirmed its FY 2026 EPS outlook of 16.50 to 17.00, which is broadly in line with Street expectations and suggests management sees continued stability after the strong quarter. Moody’s (MCO) Tops Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, underscoring shareholder returns, but this is a routine capital-allocation update rather than a major catalyst. Moody’s declares $1.03 dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appear focused on Moody’s lowered 2026 operating margin guidance, which raises concerns that costs may be offsetting some of the company’s revenue strength and helps explain why the shares have been under pressure despite the earnings beat. Moody’s lowers 2026 operating margin guidance, raises stock repurchases outlook

Moody’s Stock Down 3.5%

Moody’s stock opened at $472.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $464.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $464.75. The company has a market capitalization of $82.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.34.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.56 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 29.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 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 $665,533.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,846,709.88. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Friday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $610.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Moody’s from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $553.11.

Moody’s 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.