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

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S significantly increased its position in Moody's Corporation by 136.2%, holding 32,872 shares valued at $15.3 million.
• Moody's reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.56 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $3.39, while revenue also exceeded estimates at $1.90 billion.
• The current consensus rating for Moody's stock is a "Moderate Buy," with an average price target of $538.80 from ten analysts rating it as a Buy.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 136.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,872 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,956 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Moody's were worth $15,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Moody's by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,002 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Moody's by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 527,518 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $244,817,000 after purchasing an additional 56,273 shares during the last quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Moody's in the 1st quarter valued at $567,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Moody's by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 142,174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $66,209,000 after purchasing an additional 5,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qtron Investments LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 22.4% in the 1st quarter. Qtron Investments LLC now owns 3,375 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,572,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total transaction of $741,365.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares in the company, valued at $705,238.38. This trade represents a 51.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.45, for a total value of $216,401.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,130,706.10. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,599,385 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $538.80.

Moody's Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $6.0230 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $515.4930. 642,948 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 688,775. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.80, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.40. 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 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The company's 50-day moving average is $502.31 and its 200-day moving average is $480.03.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 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 company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.28 EPS. Moody's's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. Analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.95%.

Moody's Profile

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.