Danske Bank A S Purchases 8,688 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Danske Bank A/S increased its stake in Moody's by 9.9% in Q4, buying 8,688 shares to hold 96,039 shares worth about $49.06 million (≈0.05% of the company).
• Moody's beat Q1 EPS expectations with $4.33 (vs. $4.22 est.), posted revenue of $2.08B (up 8.1% YoY but slightly below estimates), and set FY2026 EPS guidance of 16.40–17.00 (analysts' average 16.69).
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 (ex-dividend May 15, paid June 5) equating to $4.12 annually (≈0.9% yield), while insiders sold 8,222 shares (~$3.79M) in the past 90 days and institutional ownership stands at 92.11%.

Danske Bank A S grew its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 96,039 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,688 shares during the quarter. Danske Bank A S owned about 0.05% of Moody's worth $49,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Moody's in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Stock Performance

Moody's stock opened at $456.63 on Friday. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $448.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $476.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.37.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody's had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. 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 company posted $3.83 EPS. The firm'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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.77, for a total transaction of $642,208.59. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,046,819.53. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,222 shares of company stock worth $3,786,732 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on Moody's in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Moody's from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, February 19th. 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $544.29.

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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