Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.

Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 154,981 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,091 shares during the quarter. Moody’s accounts for about 4.6% of Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $79,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1,222.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $154,499,000 after acquiring an additional 299,724 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 340.0% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 283,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $135,198,000 after acquiring an additional 219,251 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $94,260,000 after acquiring an additional 195,926 shares in the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $555,052,000 after acquiring an additional 181,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $86,930,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $449.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $78.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.37. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company’s 50 day moving average is $443.54 and its 200 day moving average is $472.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 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 transaction of $73,689.62. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $999,473.77. This trade represents a 6.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at $35,067,397.71. 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 have sold a total of 8,680 shares of company stock worth $3,952,188 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MCO. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One investment 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 MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.29.

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.