Totem Point Management LLC Takes Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Totem Point Management LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,953 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,019,000. Moody’s comprises approximately 2.0% of Totem Point Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,097,101,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $395,096,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 315.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 417,782 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $213,424,000 after purchasing an additional 317,245 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1,222.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $154,499,000 after purchasing an additional 299,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 340.0% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 283,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $135,198,000 after purchasing an additional 219,251 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $2,137,306. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of MCO opened at $468.97 on Wednesday. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $449.51 and its 200-day moving average is $468.88. 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 firm has a market cap of $81.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.62, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.35.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $565.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.29.

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.