Moody’s Corporation $MCO Holdings Decreased by Akre Capital Management LLC

Akre Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,735,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 383,718 shares during the period. Moody’s makes up approximately 9.7% of Akre Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Akre Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $886,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Altrafin AG purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $4,907,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 111,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,984,000 after acquiring an additional 21,364 shares during the last quarter. 11 Capital Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. 11 Capital Partners LP now owns 43,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 10,085 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,152,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business’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 value of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased 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. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.29.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.4%

Moody’s stock opened at $448.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $402.28 and a 52 week high of $546.88. The company has a market capitalization of $78.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $448.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $469.30.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.83 earnings per share. The company’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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

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.