Moody’s Corporation $MCO Stock Sold by Baskin Financial Services Inc.

Baskin Financial Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 100,917 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,089 shares during the quarter. Moody’s accounts for 3.7% of Baskin Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Baskin Financial Services Inc. owned about 0.06% of Moody’s worth $45,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Moody’s by 3.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,349,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,024,874,000 after buying an additional 72,043 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,420,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $643,191,000 after acquiring an additional 33,024 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,081,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $471,963,000 after acquiring an additional 454,684 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,011,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $458,126,000 after acquiring an additional 168,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 882,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $385,188,000 after acquiring an additional 59,121 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE MCO traded down $4.95 on Monday, hitting $480.12. 202,337 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,048,810. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $477.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $466.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The company has a market capitalization of $83.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.35.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 34.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.56 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. Research analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.92 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Moody’s from $610.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $512.00 to $470.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective (up from $565.00) on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $551.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $419,965.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,370,620. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, analytics and risk-management solutions. Through Moody’s Investors Service, the company assigns credit ratings and publishes research on corporate, government and structured-finance debt issuers, helping investors and other market participants evaluate credit risk.

Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, data, software and advisory services. Its offerings support credit analysis, lending, portfolio management, enterprise risk management, compliance and related functions across financial institutions, corporations, governments and other organizations.

Moody’s traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody established the company that introduced published credit ratings for bonds.