Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas Grows Stock Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas increased its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 28.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,899 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,333 shares during the quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas’ holdings in Moody’s were worth $7,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,097,101,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $395,096,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Moody’s by 315.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 417,782 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $213,424,000 after buying an additional 317,245 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in 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 worth $154,499,000 after buying an additional 299,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in Moody’s by 340.0% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 283,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $135,198,000 after buying an additional 219,251 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 price objective on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.29.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $454.16 on Tuesday. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $448.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $469.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.34 billion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a PEG ratio of 2.41 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.83 earnings per share. The company’s 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 29.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 75,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by 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.