ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 1,399 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,399 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $16,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,272,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,802,195,000 after purchasing an additional 102,682 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,375,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,213,661,000 after buying an additional 111,725 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,447,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $689,517,000 after buying an additional 91,463 shares in the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,164,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $555,052,000 after acquiring an additional 181,305 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 1,122,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $534,812,000 after acquiring an additional 20,619 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $444.89 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market cap of $77.72 billion, a PE ratio of 31.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.37. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $443.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $473.05.

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 net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.83 earnings per share. The company’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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.29.

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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.