Flossbach Von Storch SE Acquires Shares of 24,240 Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 24,240 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,979,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCO. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the second quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1,866.7% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $497.18 on Thursday. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $476.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $458.46. The company has a market cap of $86.11 billion, a PE ratio of 31.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. Moody’s’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.56 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total value of $710,468.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,166,165.20. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 3,092 shares of company stock valued at $1,447,682 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $505.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $553.61.

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.