2,022 Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Purchased by Compass Wealth Management LLC

Compass Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 51.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,956 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,022 shares during the quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $159,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 796 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 56,011 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,436,000 after buying an additional 1,239 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,985 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,850,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $597.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Moody’s to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $587.00 to $594.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $552.63.

Key Stories Impacting Moody’s

Here are the key news stories impacting Moody’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America maintained a Buy rating and lowered its price target modestly from $580 to $575, still implying approximately 17% upside from the referenced trading level. Bank of America Moody’s rating
• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s management highlighted strong AI-related activity: issuance tied to AI infrastructure reportedly increased fourfold year over year, while refinancing needs in the U.S. and Europe exceed $5 trillion. These trends could support future demand for Moody’s ratings, data and analytics products. Moody’s long-term investor takeaways
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, equivalent to $4.12 annually and a referenced yield of approximately 0.8%, providing a modest shareholder-return benefit.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst target changes were mixed but generally supportive: Deutsche Bank raised its target from $559 to $561, while Morgan Stanley lifted its target from $470 to $480. Morgan Stanley’s target remains below the referenced share price, suggesting limited near-term upside under that valuation. Deutsche Bank target change Morgan Stanley target change
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS of $4.14 missed the $4.25 consensus estimate, while revenue of $2.02 billion fell short of the $2.08 billion forecast. Revenue rose only 0.8% year over year, increasing concern about slowing growth and cost pressure. Moody’s Q3 earnings miss
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary from Seeking Alpha argued that MCO’s roughly 30-times earnings valuation may already reflect its high business quality, limiting upside unless growth accelerates materially. Moody’s valuation analysis

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $419,965.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,364 shares in the company, valued at $23,370,620. This represents a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $489.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $84.80 billion, a PE ratio of 28.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $478.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $468.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 35.26% and a return on equity of 84.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.92 EPS. Research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, analytics and risk-management solutions. Through Moody’s Investors Service, the company assigns credit ratings and publishes research on corporate, government and structured-finance debt issuers, helping investors and other market participants evaluate credit risk.

Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, data, software and advisory services. Its offerings support credit analysis, lending, portfolio management, enterprise risk management, compliance and related functions across financial institutions, corporations, governments and other organizations.

Moody’s traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody established the company that introduced published credit ratings for bonds.