2,147,599 Shares in Moody’s Corporation $MCO Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank bought a new position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,147,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,097,101,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.20% of Moody’s at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Moody’s during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of Moody’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 $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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 8,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,952,188 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $452.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average of $445.30 and a 200 day moving average of $471.43. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Barclays dropped 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. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.