CreativeOne Wealth LLC Cuts Stake in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

CreativeOne Wealth LLC cut its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,029 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders have sold 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Daiwa Securities Group raised Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.25.

Moody’s Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of MCO stock opened at $452.06 on Wednesday. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $546.88. The stock has a market cap of $80.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $486.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $489.35.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

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

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.