OP Asset Management Ltd Invests $7.14 Million in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,379 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,145,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 298,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $142,041,000 after acquiring an additional 10,434 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 39.0% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 15,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,209,000 after purchasing an additional 4,247 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 5.4% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 316,969 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $151,029,000 after purchasing an additional 16,099 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 24.5% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 23,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,186,000 after purchasing an additional 4,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP grew its position in Moody’s by 78.3% in the fourth quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 5,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,505 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 have sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 price objective on Moody’s in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $541.83.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $438.43 on Friday. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $450.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $466.83. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The company has a market cap of $76.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.53%.

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.