Vinva Investment Management Ltd Increases Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 24.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,731 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $6,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,170,285 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,228,337,000 after purchasing an additional 163,288 shares during the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Moody’s by 0.6% during the second quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. now owns 13,246,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,644,552,000 after buying an additional 83,872 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,888,788 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,943,418,000 after buying an additional 69,455 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in Moody’s by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,574,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,291,568,000 after buying an additional 35,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth $987,524,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.4%

Moody’s stock opened at $472.14 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $488.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $490.12.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.62 earnings per share. 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. Research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.12%.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 375 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,755 shares of company stock worth $3,144,524. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays reduced 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. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.