Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

Key Points

• KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Moody's by 26.6% in Q4, buying an additional 26,811 shares to hold 127,589 shares (about 0.07% of the company) worth roughly $65.18 million.
• CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares on March 3 for about $2.38 million (avg $456.71), and insiders sold a total of 8,222 shares (~$3.79 million) over the quarter, leaving insiders with 0.14% ownership.
• Moody's beat Q4 estimates with $3.64 EPS vs. $3.39 expected and $1.89B revenue (+13% y/y), set FY2026 guidance of $16.40–17.00 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03 (annualized $4.12, yield 0.9%).

KBC Group NV increased its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 26.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 127,589 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,811 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.07% of Moody's worth $65,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCO. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Moody's in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Moody's in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Moody's in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody's in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in Moody's in the third quarter worth about $32,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the business'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 $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the business'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 value of $171,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,222 shares of company stock valued at $3,786,732. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $448.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $442.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $477.74. Moody's Corporation has a 52 week low of $402.28 and a 52 week high of $546.88. The company has a market cap of $79.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.78, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.45.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody's had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.62 earnings per share. Moody's's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America started coverage on Moody's in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Moody's from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $541.69.

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.

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.