Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Andra AP fonden

Key Points

• Andra AP fonden cut its Moody’s stake by 19.8% in the second quarter, selling 6,280 shares and retaining 25,359 shares valued at approximately $11.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.11% of MCO.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $553.61; individual targets range from $505 to $610.
• Moody’s exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.68 in EPS versus the $4.26 estimate and $2.19 billion in revenue versus $2.09 billion expected. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, representing a 0.9% annualized yield.

Andra AP fonden decreased its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 19.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,359 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,280 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden's holdings in Moody's were worth $11,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 806.7% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 9,239 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,031,000 after acquiring an additional 8,220 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,097,101,000. National Pension Service increased its holdings in Moody's by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 514,377 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $262,769,000 after purchasing an additional 143,515 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,083,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $24,665,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Moody's in a report on Friday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $610.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $505.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $553.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total value of $710,468.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,166,165.20. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $468.93 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $487.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $464.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.34. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 34.25%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.56 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 16.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

Moody's Profile

Moody's Corporation NYSE: MCO is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytical tools. Through Moody's Ratings, the company evaluates the creditworthiness of governments, companies, financial institutions and debt securities, helping investors and other market participants assess credit risk. Its ratings and related research cover a broad range of fixed-income markets and structured finance products.

Through Moody's Analytics, the company provides economic and financial intelligence, risk-management software, data, quantitative models and advisory services.

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