Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by First Manhattan CO. LLC.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. reduced its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,580 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned approximately 0.05% of Moody’s worth $44,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 1,000.0% during the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Moody’s during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 5,050.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Moody’s during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 132.6% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MCO stock opened at $509.79 on Monday. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The firm has a market cap of $91.25 billion, a PE ratio of 43.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $506.17 and a 200-day moving average of $479.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.28 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 31.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Moody’s from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Moody’s from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Moody’s from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Moody’s from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $538.80.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total value of $741,365.31. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares in the company, valued at $705,238.38. This represents a 51.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total value of $455,891.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at $1,091,699.52. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,008 shares of company stock valued at $4,599,385. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Moody’s Profile

Moody’s Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody’s Analytics and Moody’s Investors Services. The Moody’s Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.