Cantillon Capital Management LLC Has $227.53 Million Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 445,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,395 shares during the quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $227,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.29.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.0%

MCO opened at $451.54 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $447.29 and its 200-day moving average is $470.23. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a market cap of $78.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.35.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.53%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $665,533.89. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 52,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,846,709.88. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.