Candriam S.C.A. Boosts Stock Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in Moody’s by 107% in the first quarter, buying an additional 28,782 shares and bringing its total holdings to 55,674 shares worth about $24.3 million.
• Moody’s reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.33 per share, while revenue rose 8.1% year over year to $2.08 billion. The company also issued FY 2026 EPS guidance of 16.4 to 17.0.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of about $545.06, above the stock’s recent trading level near $487.

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 107.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,674 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 28,782 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $24,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 3.6% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 298,104 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $142,041,000 after purchasing an additional 10,434 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Moody's by 78.3% in the fourth quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 5,703 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,505 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Moody's by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 218,843 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $111,796,000 after purchasing an additional 48,240 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,097,101,000. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 41,816 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $19,924,000 after buying an additional 5,362 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Moody's from $491.00 to $496.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Moody's from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho cut 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 report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.06.

Moody's Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $487.17. 510,730 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 996,152. The stock has a market cap of $85.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.34. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $455.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $466.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody's had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.83 earnings per share. Moody's's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody'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 directly owned 75,189 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have sold 3,250 shares of company stock worth $1,495,098 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by 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.

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