APG Asset Management N.V. Has $109.12 Million Stock Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

APG Asset Management N.V. increased its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 55.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 229,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 81,404 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $109,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $267,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 30.0% during the second quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 620 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the second quarter worth $260,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 798 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $201,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 592 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.15, for a total transaction of $305,560.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,527,474.30. The trade was a 0.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $477.30 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $493.68 and its 200-day moving average is $491.95. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $84.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.44.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted 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. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Daiwa Securities Group raised Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.25.

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.