Brasada Capital Management LP Trims Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Brasada Capital Management LP trimmed its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,677 shares during the period. Moody’s comprises 1.9% of Brasada Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Brasada Capital Management LP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $11,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth about $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 15.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 6.2% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,692,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.4% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,423,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.4%

MCO stock opened at $448.12 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $448.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $469.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group reduced 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, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.29.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at $35,067,397.71. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the 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 $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.