Moody’s Corporation $MCO Stake Lifted by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 298,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,434 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $142,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.8%

Moody’s stock opened at $429.91 on Monday. Moody’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.52 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $482.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $487.72.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America began coverage on Moody’s in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.25.

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.