Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac Makes New $1.11 Million Investment in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac opened a new position in Moody’s, buying 2,228 shares valued at about $1.11 million in the fourth quarter.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $544.29, though several firms recently trimmed their targets.
• Moody’s reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $4.33 per share and raised full-year guidance, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share.

Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,228 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. 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. Barclays reduced their price target on Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Moody's from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Moody's from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $544.29.

Moody's Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Moody's stock opened at $452.46 on Friday. 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 current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock's 50-day moving average is $445.30 and its 200 day moving average is $471.43. The firm has a market cap of $79.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43, a PEG ratio of 2.42 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody's had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 2,143 shares in the company, valued at $999,473.77. This represents a 6.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 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 owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,680 shares of company stock worth $3,952,188. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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