Oak Harvest Investment Services Makes New Investment in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Oak Harvest Investment Services bought a new position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 23,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,251,000. Moody’s comprises about 0.5% of Oak Harvest Investment Services’ holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth $25,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth $30,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE MCO opened at $455.67 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $442.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $477.57. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 8,222 shares of company stock worth $3,786,732 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $541.69.

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.