ProShare Advisors LLC Has $16.53 Million Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,399 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $16,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at about $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Moody’s by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,692,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.4% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 2.4%

Moody’s stock opened at $444.89 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $443.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $473.05. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.37. 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 (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $73,689.62. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,473.77. This trade represents a 6.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 8,680 shares of company stock worth $3,952,188 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MCO. 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 lowered their target price on shares of Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price target on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.29.

About Moody’s

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.