Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Purchased by Katamaran Capital LLP

Katamaran Capital LLP raised its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 112.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,214 shares during the period. Moody’s accounts for about 3.5% of Katamaran Capital LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Katamaran Capital LLP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 15.5% in the 2nd 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 during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 6.2% in the 2nd 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 during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,692,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,423,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MCO. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.06.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $494.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $456.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.47.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 3,250 shares of company stock worth $1,495,098 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.