Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Acquires 4,701 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 46,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,701 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $23,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. now owns 19,732 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,129,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Income Insurance Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $245,000. Oxbow Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 34,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,396,000 after acquiring an additional 1,098 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. EWA LLC now owns 535 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 7,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,967,000 after purchasing an additional 1,870 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of Moody’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 value of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 business’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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares in the company, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.6%

MCO opened at $448.48 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market cap of $78.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.37. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $447.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $475.18.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. Moody’s’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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.29.

Moody’s Profile

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.