Norges Bank Takes $1.10 Billion Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCOFree Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,147,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,097,101,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays cut their target price on Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.29.

Check Out Our Latest Report on MCO

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $452.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $445.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $471.43. The company has a market cap of $79.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.43, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.37. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCOGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.83 earnings per share. The company’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. Sell-side 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 paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.53%.

Moody’s Profile

(Free Report)

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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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Moody's (NYSE:MCO)

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