Danske Bank A S Takes Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 87,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $41,621,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Moody’s in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Moody’s from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.25.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the business’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 transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,613,594.19. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $438.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The stock has a market cap of $78.08 billion, a PE ratio of 32.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $476.63 and a 200-day moving average of $486.36.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.62 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

Moody’s Company 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.