Bank of America Corp DE Trims Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its Moody’s stake by 15.2% in the first quarter, selling 120,802 shares and retaining 671,947 shares valued at approximately $293.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.11% of Moody’s stock.
• Moody’s reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.68 versus the $4.26 consensus estimate and revenue of $2.19 billion, up 15.1% year over year. The company guided for fiscal 2026 EPS of $16.50–$17.00.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Moody’s carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $553.61, compared with its reported share price of $483.36.

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 15.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 671,947 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 120,802 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.38% of Moody's worth $293,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,272,967 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,802,195,000 after purchasing an additional 102,682 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Moody's by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,965,480 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,019,551,000 after purchasing an additional 42,966 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Moody's by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,370,601 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,211,023,000 after purchasing an additional 62,798 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Moody's by 3.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,349,281 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,024,874,000 after purchasing an additional 72,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $1,097,101,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $665,533.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,846,709.88. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% 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. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moody's Price Performance

Moody's stock opened at $483.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $469.68 and a 200-day moving average of $462.27. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.65, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.34.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.42. Moody's had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.56 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 16.82 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody's's payout ratio is 26.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Moody's from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $512.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $553.61.

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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