Aquatic Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,654,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth $987,524,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 1,222.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,499,000 after buying an additional 299,724 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 10,311.9% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 197,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,260,000 after acquiring an additional 195,926 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Moody’s by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,006,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,527,360,000 after purchasing an additional 191,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Moody’s by 223.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 102,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,225,000 after acquiring an additional 184,598 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related 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 value of $2,380,829.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 ownership of the stock. 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 business’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 $171,266.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.25.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MCO stock opened at $432.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $480.30 and its 200 day moving average is $487.17.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.62 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

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

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.