Strs Ohio Reduces Stake in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Strs Ohio reduced its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,055 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $14,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCO. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Moody’s by 15.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 6.2% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,692,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.4% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,423,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of MCO opened at $489.61 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $452.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $466.21. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $85.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.34. Moody’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $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 expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 29.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 price target on Moody’s in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $541.83.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,564 shares in the company, valued at $23,846,709.88. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This trade 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 have sold 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.