Moody’s Corporation $MCO Stock Position Cut by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB decreased its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 590,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,898 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.33% of Moody’s worth $281,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 50.0% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total transaction of $558,934.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at $29,255,223.90. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,154 shares of company stock worth $1,041,098. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO opened at $535.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.04, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $497.18 and a 200-day moving average of $497.84. 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 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $540.00.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (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 period in the prior year, the business earned $3.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Moody’s from $580.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $574.00 target price on shares of Moody’s and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $524.00 to $570.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $558.06.

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.