Moody’s Corporation $MCO Position Boosted by Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 23,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,625 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $11,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Smart Money Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.3% during the third quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 55.2% in the third quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 229,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,116,000 after purchasing an additional 81,404 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Ibex Wealth Advisors grew its position in Moody’s by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 12,238 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,831,000 after buying an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $477.30 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.63 billion, a PE ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $493.68 and a 200-day moving average of $491.75. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.62 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.15, for a total transaction of $305,560.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at $31,527,474.30. The trade was a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group cut their target price on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.25.

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.