Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Purchased by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in Moody's by 7.4% in Q4 to 41,866 shares, worth about $21.39 million.
• Moody's beat EPS expectations, reporting $4.33 vs. $4.22 expected and $2.08 billion revenue, and has set FY2026 guidance at 16.40–17.00 EPS (consensus 16.69).
• Insiders sold 7,630 shares worth $3.48 million over the last three months, while institutional investors hold roughly 92.11% of the stock.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,866 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Moody's were worth $21,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in Moody's by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 363 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 753 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in shares of Moody's by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,081 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, EWA LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 501 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:MCO opened at $456.63 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average is $448.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $476.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.77 billion, a PE ratio of 32.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.37.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 period last year, the company posted $3.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue 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. Research analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $489.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Daiwa Securities Group raised Moody's from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody's has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $544.29.

Insider Activity

In other Moody's news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 7,630 shares of company stock worth $3,481,172 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently 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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