Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $231.21 Million Stock Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 451,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 45,578 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.25% of Moody’s worth $231,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $489.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $85.53 billion, a PE ratio of 35.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $451.66 and a 200-day moving average of $466.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The business 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%. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, 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 owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,067,397.71. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months, insiders sold 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on MCO shares. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $541.83.

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.