BNP Paribas Increases Stake in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

BNP Paribas boosted its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 33.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,566 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Moody’s were worth $7,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $73,689.62. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,143 shares in the company, valued at $999,473.77. This represents a 6.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 3,092 shares of company stock worth $1,400,092 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO opened at $464.84 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $445.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $471.14. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.35.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 29.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.29.

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.