Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Increases Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 2.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 133,282 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,676 shares during the period. Moody’s comprises approximately 1.1% of Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $60,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 87.1% in the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1,866.7% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Mizuho increased their price target on Moody’s from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $512.00 price objective on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $553.61.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $515.69 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $89.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $484.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $460.16. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. Moody’s had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total value of $710,468.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,166,165.20. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.