Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Sells 1,462 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise reduced its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 12.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,634 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,462 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $5,067,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $462.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The firm has a market cap of $82.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $487.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $489.79.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCO. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.