Korea Investment CORP Raises Stake in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP raised its stake in Moody's by 8.1% in Q3 to 92,117 shares (about $43.9 million), representing roughly 0.05% of the company.
• Moody's beat Q results — EPS $3.64 vs. $3.39 consensus and revenue $1.89B — set FY2026 guidance of 16.40–17.00 EPS and increased its quarterly dividend to $1.03 ($4.12 annual, 0.9% yield).
• Insiders sold stock (CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares for ~$2.38M; insiders sold 6,755 shares in the quarter), while analysts hold a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $550.25.

Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,117 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,920 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.05% of Moody's worth $43,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BAM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's in the third quarter valued at approximately $871,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Moody's by 0.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 647,711 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $308,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,942 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Moody's by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 73,793 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,202 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Moody's by 135.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 45,829 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $21,837,000 after acquiring an additional 26,388 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in Moody's by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,574,948 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,291,568,000 after purchasing an additional 35,123 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on Moody's in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $550.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moody's Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $472.14 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $488.98 and a 200 day moving average of $490.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. Moody's Corporation has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $546.88.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.62 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody's's payout ratio 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MCO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report).

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.