Moody’s Corporation $MCO Position Raised by Canoe Financial LP

Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 425,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,780 shares during the period. Moody’s accounts for about 3.0% of Canoe Financial LP’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Canoe Financial LP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $217,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $987,524,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Moody’s by 1,222.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $154,499,000 after acquiring an additional 299,724 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Moody’s by 340.0% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 283,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $135,198,000 after acquiring an additional 219,251 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 10,311.9% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 197,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,260,000 after acquiring an additional 195,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $424.73 on Friday. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $462.21 and a 200 day moving average of $482.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.45.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.62 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. 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. UBS Group reduced their target price on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.25.

Moody’s 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.