Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires 3,300 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 46,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $23,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 19.2% in the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Facet Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at about $226,000. Shilanski & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.2% during the second quarter. Shilanski & Associates Inc. now owns 3,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 2.2% in the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,819,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 0.7% in the second quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 58,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,562,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.9%

MCO opened at $495.22 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $493.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $486.09. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The company has a market cap of $88.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.22. Moody’s had a return on equity of 63.58% and a net margin of 29.92%.The company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. Analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total value of $1,083,701.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,558 shares in the company, valued at $2,841,138.44. This trade represents a 27.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.09, for a total transaction of $199,652.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,385,939.38. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,365 shares of company stock worth $1,712,505. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $471.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Mizuho increased their price target on Moody’s from $532.00 to $539.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.33.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody’s Analytics and Moody’s Investors Services. The Moody’s Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.