Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Sells 2,541 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich sharply cut its Moody’s stake by 74.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,541 shares and ending with 875 shares valued at about $447,000.
• Moody’s reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.33 beating estimates and revenue rising 8.1% year over year to $2.08 billion, while it also raised FY 2026 EPS guidance to 16.40–17.00.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, and analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $544.29.

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich reduced its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 74.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 875 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,541 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's holdings in Moody's were worth $447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 1,222.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $154,499,000 after acquiring an additional 299,724 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 340.0% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 283,744 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $135,198,000 after acquiring an additional 219,251 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 10,311.9% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 197,826 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $94,260,000 after acquiring an additional 195,926 shares during the period. Windacre Partnership LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 18.4% in the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,164,900 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $555,052,000 after acquiring an additional 181,305 shares during the period. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter worth $86,930,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE MCO opened at $428.93 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $445.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $474.04. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a market capitalization of $74.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.75, a PEG ratio of 2.31 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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MCO. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $489.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Moody's from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $544.29.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm'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 $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the firm'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 $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,680 shares of company stock worth $3,952,188 over the last ninety days. 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.

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