3,107 Shares in Moody’s Corporation $MCO Purchased by Leonteq Securities AG

Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,587,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position 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 boosted its position 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 valued at $36,423,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $445.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $77.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $443.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $472.80. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $489.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings cut Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.29.

Moody’s Company 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.