Prospera Financial Services Inc Grows Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 343.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,562 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the third quarter worth about $32,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $450.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.30, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $445.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $471.56. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $402.28 and a 52 week high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. Moody’s’s revenue 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MCO. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. One 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 MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.29.

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.