Moody’s Corporation $MCO Holdings Boosted by Marshfield Associates

Marshfield Associates lifted its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 537,128 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,114 shares during the period. Moody’s accounts for about 4.4% of Marshfield Associates’ portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Marshfield Associates owned approximately 0.30% of Moody’s worth $255,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. VestGen Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. EWA LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 4.4% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 501 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.4% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,334,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,383,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.2% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 1,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $432.42 on Tuesday. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $546.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $480.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $487.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.62 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.25.

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.