Empowered Funds LLC Grows Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 22.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,926 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,773 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $9,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 87.1% in the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 1,866.7% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.1%

MCO opened at $482.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market cap of $83.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.60, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.34. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $468.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $463.02.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.56 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Moody’s from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on Moody’s from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Friday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $610.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Moody’s from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $553.61.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 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 $665,533.89. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,846,709.88. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.