DAVENPORT & Co LLC Buys 1,339 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 20.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,339 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCO. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter worth $30,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $424.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.05, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $462.21 and a 200 day moving average of $483.08. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $546.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,613,594.19. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MCO. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.25.

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.