Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Katamaran Capital LLP

Katamaran Capital LLP trimmed its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 48.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,651 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,322 shares during the period. Moody’s accounts for 1.8% of Katamaran Capital LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Katamaran Capital LLP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BAM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $871,000. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 3.6% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 298,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $142,041,000 after purchasing an additional 10,434 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 0.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 647,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $308,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 135.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 45,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,837,000 after purchasing an additional 26,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 10.4% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 25,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.29.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $450.94 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.37. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $448.64 and a 200 day moving average of $475.61.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 8,680 shares of company stock worth $3,952,188 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.