Walter Public Investments Inc. Sells 23,859 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Walter Public Investments Inc. lowered its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 52.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 23,859 shares during the quarter. Moody’s accounts for approximately 2.3% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $9,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Moody’s by 3.6% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 298,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $142,041,000 after buying an additional 10,434 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in Moody’s by 39.0% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 15,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,209,000 after acquiring an additional 4,247 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Moody’s by 78.3% in the fourth quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 5,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after acquiring an additional 2,505 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Moody’s by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 218,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $111,796,000 after acquiring an additional 48,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,272,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business’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 $71,679.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through 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 stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $665,533.89. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,250 shares of company stock worth $1,495,098. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCO. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $541.83.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO opened at $489.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $452.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $466.21. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a market capitalization of $85.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.10, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.34.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. Moody’s’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities analysts expect 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 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.53%.

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.