Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Buys 4,102 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 54,649 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,102 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $23,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 1,866.7% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MCO. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $610.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Moody’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $548.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,250 shares of company stock worth $1,495,098. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 1.5%

MCO opened at $511.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.64, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.34. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $460.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $465.69.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s’s quarterly 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 29.53%.

Moody’s Company 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.