KBC Group NV Buys 1,583 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

KBC Group NV lifted its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 129,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $56,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 753 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $491.00 to $496.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.58.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $665,533.89. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,846,709.88. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,250 shares of company stock worth $1,495,098. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 1.2%

MCO opened at $504.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $88.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.34. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $461.65 and a 200 day moving average of $465.24. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. Moody’s’s quarterly 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current year.

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.