Arax Advisory Partners Sells 4,923 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Arax Advisory Partners reduced its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 56.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,923 shares during the period. Arax Advisory Partners’ holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,564 shares in the company, valued at $23,846,709.88. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $454.16 on Tuesday. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $448.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $469.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.34 billion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.35.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.53%.

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.