Sunbelt Securities Inc. Acquires 2,797 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 2,715.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,797 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Moody’s by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,170,285 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,228,337,000 after buying an additional 163,288 shares in the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. lifted its position in Moody’s by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. now owns 13,246,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,644,552,000 after acquiring an additional 83,872 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth $987,524,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Moody’s by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,447,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $689,517,000 after purchasing an additional 91,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Windacre Partnership LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 18.4% in the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,164,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $555,052,000 after purchasing an additional 181,305 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:MCO opened at $438.63 on Thursday. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $476.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $486.36.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.25.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.