Kerusso Capital Management LLC Acquires 1,510 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Kerusso Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 32.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,510 shares during the quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,170,285 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,228,337,000 after acquiring an additional 163,288 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,375,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,213,661,000 after acquiring an additional 111,725 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,447,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $689,517,000 after acquiring an additional 91,463 shares during the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,164,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $555,052,000 after acquiring an additional 181,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 1,122,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $534,812,000 after acquiring an additional 20,619 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $452.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.16. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $445.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $477.00. The company has a market capitalization of $80.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.45.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.77, for a total value of $642,208.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,046,819.53. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 8,222 shares of company stock valued at $3,786,732 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCO. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.47.

More Moody’s News

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

• Positive Sentiment: EPS beat and record Q1 performance: Moody’s reported $4.33 EPS (above consensus) and delivered record first-quarter results with revenue up ~8% year-over-year — a core driver supporting the stock. Moody’s Beats Q1 Forecasts as Revenue and Earnings Top Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Share buybacks accelerated: management increased the buyback authorization to $2.5 billion, a capital-return move that supports EPS and signals confidence from the board. Moody’s Boosts Buybacks To $2.5 Billion Following Q1 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Analytics and AI tailwinds: management cited strong analytics demand and progress integrating AI into product offerings — longer-term growth levers that investors prize. MCO Q1 deep dive: AI integration and ratings demand drive growth amid volatility
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 guidance reiterated and essentially in line with Street: Moody’s set EPS guidance of 16.40–17.00, a range that tracks near consensus and reduces uncertainty but offers limited upside surprise. Moody’s profit rises on strong analytics growth, lifts annual forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend declared: Moody’s set a quarterly dividend of $1.03 (ex-div May 15, payable June 5), a modest yield that supports total-return investors but is not a major catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Top-line nuance and rising costs: some metrics showed revenue not meaningfully above consensus (mixed reads across outlets) and operating expenses increased in the quarter — factors that likely tempered the rally despite the EPS beat. MCO Q1 Earnings Beat on Rising Analytics Demand & Higher Issuances

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.