PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab Takes Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought 168,551 shares of Moody's in Q4 — about $86.93 million — giving it a 0.09% stake while institutional investors own 92.11% of the company.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" on Moody's with a consensus price target of $544.29, versus the stock trading around $456.63 (12‑month range $402.28–$546.88).
• Moody's beat quarterly EPS expectations ($4.33 vs. $4.22), reported revenue up 8.1% YoY, set FY 2026 guidance of EPS $16.40–17.00, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.03 (0.9% yield; ex‑dividend May 15).

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 168,551 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $86,930,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab owned 0.09% of Moody's at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BAM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Moody's in the third quarter valued at approximately $871,000. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Moody's by 3.6% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 298,104 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $142,041,000 after purchasing an additional 10,434 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 0.3% in 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 buying an additional 1,942 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 3.1% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 73,793 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,161,000 after buying an additional 2,202 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 135.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 45,829 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $21,837,000 after buying an additional 26,388 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of Moody's from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Moody's from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Moody's from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $544.29.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $456.63 on Friday. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $448.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $476.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody's had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,222 shares of company stock valued at $3,786,732 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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.