BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Boosts Stock Holdings in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its Moody’s stake by 8.3% in the first quarter, buying 6,033 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 79,076 shares valued at about $34.5 million.
• Moody’s reported solid first-quarter results, with EPS of $4.33 topping analyst estimates, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $2.08 billion. The company also reaffirmed FY 2026 EPS guidance of 16.4 to 17.0.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally positive, with the stock carrying an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $541.83, even as some firms recently downgraded their views or trimmed targets.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,076 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,033 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Moody's were worth $34,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 102,682 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 42,966 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Moody's by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,375,768 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,213,661,000 after acquiring an additional 111,725 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Moody's by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,370,601 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,211,023,000 after acquiring an additional 62,798 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Moody's in the fourth quarter worth $1,097,101,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Up 0.1%

Moody's stock opened at $451.20 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.35. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The stock's fifty day moving average is $450.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $468.26.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.83 earnings per share. The business'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. Analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Moody's from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $541.83.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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.