AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Raises Stock Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 32.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 119,255 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 29,382 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $59,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 1,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 42.9% in the 2nd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 80 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $481.36 on Wednesday. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $499.65 and its 200 day moving average is $482.74. The company has a market capitalization of $86.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.28 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $531.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $595.00 to $597.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $543.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total transaction of $1,083,701.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,841,138.44. This represents a 27.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total transaction of $455,891.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at $1,091,699.52. This represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,603,224. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company 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.