KBC Group NV Buys 1,583 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,583 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.07% of Moody’s worth $56,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 1,866.7% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $665,533.89. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,846,709.88. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This represents 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 sold 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCO. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Moody’s from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.58.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $504.85 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 quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $461.65 and its 200 day moving average is $465.24. The company has a market cap of $88.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.34.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current year.

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.