Janus Henderson Group PLC Cuts Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Janus Henderson Group PLC reduced its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 94.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 40,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 635,049 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $17,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 87.1% during the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.0%

MCO stock opened at $483.36 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $469.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $462.27. The company has a market capitalization of $83.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.65, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.34. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.42. Moody’s had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.56 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.82 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 26.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Moody’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $553.61.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business’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 $665,533.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,846,709.88. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were 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. The trade was 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. 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.