Nordea Investment Management AB Has $284.04 Million Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management AB trimmed its stake in Moody's by 6.3%, selling 37,376 shares and finishing the quarter with 552,736 shares worth $284.04 million.
• Insiders have been selling: CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares at an average $456.71 (~$2.38M) and insiders sold 6,755 shares totaling about $3.14 million over the last 90 days.
• Strong quarterly results and guidance: Moody's beat estimates (EPS $3.64 vs $3.39; revenue $1.89B, +13% YoY), set FY2026 EPS guidance of 16.40–17.00, and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" target of $550.25.

Nordea Investment Management AB lessened its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 552,736 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 37,376 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.31% of Moody's worth $284,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,170,285 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,228,337,000 after acquiring an additional 163,288 shares during the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 0.6% during the second quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. now owns 13,246,979 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,644,552,000 after purchasing an additional 83,872 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the second quarter worth $987,524,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Moody's by 6.7% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,447,105 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $689,517,000 after purchasing an additional 91,463 shares during the period. Finally, Windacre Partnership LLC raised its position in Moody's by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,164,900 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $555,052,000 after purchasing an additional 181,305 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 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 transaction of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $610.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Moody's from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on Moody's in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Moody's from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company 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 five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $550.25.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of Moody's stock opened at $434.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $472.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $485.39. Moody's Corporation has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The company has a market cap of $77.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.75, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.45.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.62 EPS. The firm's 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

About Moody's

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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