Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Purchased by Smart Money Group LLC

Smart Money Group LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,252 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Smart Money Group LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 42.9% in the second quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 80 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 132.6% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total transaction of $558,934.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,255,223.90. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,984 shares of company stock valued at $1,470,249. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Moody’s from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted 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, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $543.07.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $482.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $488.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $488.73. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93. The firm has a market cap of $85.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.92% and a return on equity of 63.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.21 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.23%.

Moody’s Company 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.