Qsemble Capital Management LP Purchases 2,505 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Qsemble Capital Management LP lifted its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 78.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,505 shares during the quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1,222.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,499,000 after purchasing an additional 299,724 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 340.0% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 283,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $135,198,000 after purchasing an additional 219,251 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Moody’s by 10,311.9% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 197,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,260,000 after acquiring an additional 195,926 shares during the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 18.4% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,930,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.9%

MCO opened at $428.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $74.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $445.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $474.04. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the company’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 transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,680 shares of company stock worth $3,952,188. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s 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.