Free Trial

Avanza Fonder AB Has $5.29 Million Stake in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Moody's logo with Finance background

Key Points

  • Avanza Fonder AB has reduced its stake in Moody's Corporation by 11.6%, now owning 10,550 shares valued at $5.29 million after selling 1,385 shares.
  • Moody's reported earnings per share (EPS) of $3.56, exceeding expectations, alongside a revenue increase of 4.5% year-over-year, totaling $1.90 billion for the quarter.
  • The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.8% and a payout ratio of approximately 31.95%.
  • MarketBeat previews top five stocks to own in October.

Avanza Fonder AB lessened its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 11.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,550 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,385 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Moody's were worth $5,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,815,629 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,899,490,000 after purchasing an additional 119,548 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,651,495 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $769,085,000 after purchasing an additional 60,816 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Moody's by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,586,672 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $738,897,000 after purchasing an additional 140,128 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,530,582 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $712,777,000 after purchasing an additional 265,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,293,936 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $602,573,000 after purchasing an additional 14,557 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total value of $741,365.31. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $705,238.38. This trade represents a 51.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total value of $455,891.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,091,699.52. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,423 shares of company stock worth $4,812,135. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Barclays increased their price target on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $540.71.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on MCO

Moody's Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE MCO traded down $13.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $474.73. 534,904 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 782,738. The stock has a market cap of $84.98 billion, a PE ratio of 40.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.42. The company's fifty day moving average is $508.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $480.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.28 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.95%.

Moody's Profile

(Free Report)

Moody's Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Services. The Moody's Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.

See Also

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Moody's (NYSE:MCO)

Should You Invest $1,000 in Moody's Right Now?

Before you consider Moody's, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Moody's wasn't on the list.

While Moody's currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here

A Guide To High-Short-Interest Stocks Cover

MarketBeat's analysts have just released their top five short plays for October 2025. Learn which stocks have the most short interest and how to trade them. Enter your email address to see which companies made the list.

Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.