Danske Bank A S Takes Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Danske Bank A/S bought a new position in Moody's, acquiring 87,351 shares valued at about $41.62 million in the third quarter; institutional investors now own roughly 92.11% of the company.
• Moody's beat quarterly expectations with $3.64 EPS (vs. $3.39) and $1.89B revenue, set FY2026 guidance of $16.40–$17.00 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03 (annual $4.12).
• Insiders have sold 6,755 shares in the past 90 days (including CEO Robert Fauber), while analysts rate Moody's an average "Moderate Buy" with a mean price target of $550.25.

Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 87,351 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $41,621,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Moody's in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Moody's from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Moody's from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Moody's from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $550.25.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the business's 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 $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $438.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The stock has a market cap of $78.08 billion, a PE ratio of 32.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $476.63 and a 200-day moving average of $486.36.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The firm's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.62 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.