BNP Paribas Buys 3,566 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• BNP Paribas increased its Moody's stake by 33.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 3,566 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 14,330 shares valued at about $7.32 million.
• Moody's delivered a solid quarterly earnings beat, reporting $4.33 EPS versus the $4.22 consensus, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $2.08 billion. The company also reaffirmed full-year expectations, with analysts projecting 2026 EPS guidance in the 16.4 to 17.0 range.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with Moody's carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $544.29. The stock recently traded at $464.84 and also offers a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, or $4.12 annually.

BNP Paribas raised its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 33.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,330 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,566 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas' holdings in Moody's were worth $7,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Moody's from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Moody's from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $544.29.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of Moody's stock opened at $464.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $81.21 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.35. Moody's Corporation has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-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's fifty day simple moving average is $445.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $471.14.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other news, 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 value of $684,194.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,067,397.71. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $73,689.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,143 shares in the company, valued at $999,473.77. This represents a 6.87% 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. Insiders sold a total of 3,092 shares of company stock worth $1,400,092 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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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