Donaldson Capital Management LLC Purchases 2,102 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,102 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $14,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Mizuho reduced their price target on Moody’s from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.25.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $424.73 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $462.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $482.74. 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 market capitalization of $75.60 billion, a PE ratio of 31.05, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $546.88.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.12%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.