ABN Amro Investment Solutions Boosts Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• ABN Amro Investment Solutions significantly increased its Moody’s stake by 614.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 6,491 shares valued at about $3.3 million.
• Moody’s reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $4.33, topping estimates, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $2.08 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $544.29; the company also declared a $1.03 quarterly dividend.

ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 614.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,491 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,582 shares during the quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions' holdings in Moody's were worth $3,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the second quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Moody's by 15.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,475,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Moody's by 6.2% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,692,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,423,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCO. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $565.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $544.29.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $449.30 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $443.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $472.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Moody's Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The company has a market capitalization of $78.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is 29.53%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value 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. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188. 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.

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