BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Grows Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in Moody’s by 221.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 50,299 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 73,043 shares worth about $37.3 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains generally positive, with Moody’s carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $544.29, though several firms recently trimmed their targets.
• Moody’s reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $4.33 and raised its FY 2026 guidance to $16.40-$17.00 per share, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 221.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,043 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 50,299 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Moody's were worth $37,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Moody's during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Moody's in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Moody's from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Moody's from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $544.29.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Moody's stock opened at $451.54 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $447.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $470.24. The company has a market cap of $78.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.35. Moody's Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The firm's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.53%.

Moody's 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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