Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 48,240 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 28.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 218,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 48,240 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.12% of Moody’s worth $111,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth $987,524,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 1,222.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 324,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $154,499,000 after purchasing an additional 299,724 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 340.0% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 283,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $135,198,000 after purchasing an additional 219,251 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 10,311.9% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 197,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,260,000 after buying an additional 195,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 223.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 102,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,225,000 after buying an additional 184,598 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 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 $2,380,829.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 have sold 6,755 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,524 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Moody’s from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.25.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of MCO opened at $441.33 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $470.92 and a 200 day moving average of $484.91. The company has a market cap of $78.56 billion, a PE ratio of 32.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The business’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

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