Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac Makes New $1.11 Million Investment in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 753 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 0.4% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,334,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $73,689.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $999,473.77. This trade represents a 6.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.29.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.4%

MCO stock opened at $452.46 on Friday. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $445.30 and its 200-day moving average is $471.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.05 billion, a PE ratio of 32.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.37.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its 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. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.03 dividend. 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%.

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.