Fiera Capital Corp Has $1.21 Billion Stock Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Fiera Capital Corp decreased its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,371,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 113,197 shares during the quarter. Moody’s accounts for approximately 3.8% of Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,211,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Moody’s during the second quarter valued at about $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Moody’s by 15.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,475,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 6.2% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Moody’s by 3.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,692,000 after buying an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Moody’s by 0.4% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,423,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $451.54 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $447.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $470.23. The company has a market cap of $78.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.35. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.53%.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.