Johnson Financial Group Inc. Purchases 21,177 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 37,816.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,177 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $10,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO opened at $425.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $483.56 and a 200-day moving average of $488.60. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The company has a market cap of $75.73 billion, a PE ratio of 31.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.45.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on MCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.25.

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.