National Pension Service Purchases 143,515 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 38.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 514,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 143,515 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $262,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,680 shares of company stock worth $3,952,188. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.4%

MCO stock opened at $452.46 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $445.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $471.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The stock has a market cap of $79.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.37.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho cut their target price on Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.