Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension Buys Shares of 47,822 Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Moody’s, buying 47,822 shares worth about $24.4 million. The position makes Moody’s its 27th-largest holding and represents about 0.6% of its portfolio.
• Moody’s recently beat earnings estimates, reporting $4.33 per share versus the $4.22 consensus, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $2.08 billion. The company also guided FY2026 EPS at 16.4 to 17.0.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, payable June 5, for an annualized yield of about 1.0%. Meanwhile, both CEO Robert Fauber and SVP Richard G. Steele sold shares in May under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought a new stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 47,822 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $24,430,000. Moody's comprises approximately 0.6% of Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Moody's during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Moody's in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Moody's in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in Moody's in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price target on Moody's from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Moody's from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $544.29.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $432.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.63 billion, a PE ratio of 31.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $446.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $474.35.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $73,689.62. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $999,473.77. This trade represents a 6.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at $35,067,397.71. This represents a 1.91% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 8,680 shares of company stock worth $3,952,188 in the last three months. 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MCO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.