iA Global Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its Moody’s stake by 52.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 3,599 shares and bringing its total holdings to 10,430 shares worth about $5.33 million.
• Moody’s reported quarterly EPS of $4.33, topping analyst estimates, while revenue came in slightly below expectations at $2.08 billion. Revenue still rose 8.1% year over year, and the company reiterated FY2026 EPS guidance of 16.40–17.00.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, or $4.12 annualized, yielding about 1.0%. Meanwhile, insiders sold shares recently, and analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $544.29.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 52.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,430 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,599 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $5,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Moody's Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $428.93 on Monday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $445.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $473.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.93 billion, a PE ratio of 30.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.37. Moody's Corporation has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The business's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.83 earnings per share. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is 29.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $35,067,397.71. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $73,689.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $999,473.77. This trade represents a 6.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Moody's from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $489.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $544.29.

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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