Avanza Fonder AB Has $5.72 Million Stake in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Avanza Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 13.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $5,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 13.0% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 12,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,655,000 after buying an additional 1,401 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 2.2% during the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 9,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,464,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 9,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,727 shares during the period. Finally, Okabena Investment Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 62.2% during the 1st quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $516.45 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $487.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $493.93. The company has a market cap of $92.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.22. Moody’s had a return on equity of 63.58% and a net margin of 29.92%.The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.21 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MCO. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $524.00 to $570.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $528.00 target price on Moody’s and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Moody’s from $580.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $543.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total value of $558,934.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,255,223.90. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 2,154 shares of company stock worth $1,041,098 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Moody’s

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.