Sunbelt Securities Inc. Has $1.38 Million Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 2,715.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,797 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Moody’s during the second quarter worth $987,524,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 1,222.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,499,000 after purchasing an additional 299,724 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 340.0% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 283,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $135,198,000 after purchasing an additional 219,251 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Moody’s by 10,311.9% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 197,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,260,000 after buying an additional 195,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,006,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,527,360,000 after buying an additional 191,368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.25.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $438.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $78.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.06, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $546.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $476.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $486.36.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.

Moody’s Company 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.