Junto Capital Management LP Boosts Stake in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Junto Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 195.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 260,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 172,077 shares during the quarter. Moody’s accounts for about 2.1% of Junto Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Junto Capital Management LP owned 0.15% of Moody’s worth $117,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 11.0% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 46.8% in the second quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,461 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 16.8% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 10,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in Moody’s by 0.3% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 500,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $226,880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,418,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $475.10 on Thursday. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $491.47 and a 200-day moving average of $463.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.56 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.98 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Moody’s from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, July 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $610.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $553.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total transaction of $710,468.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,964 shares in the company, valued at $25,166,165.20. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytical tools. Through Moody’s Ratings, the company evaluates the creditworthiness of governments, companies, financial institutions and debt securities, helping investors and other market participants assess credit risk. Its ratings and related research cover a broad range of fixed-income markets and structured finance products.

Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides economic and financial intelligence, risk-management software, data, quantitative models and advisory services.