Candriam S.C.A. Lowers Stock Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Candriam S.C.A. cut its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 33.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,727 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,959 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $12,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 527,518 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $244,817,000 after purchasing an additional 56,273 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 33.0% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 25,672 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,955,000 after buying an additional 6,364 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in Moody’s by 4,738.5% in the first quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 45,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,023,000 after buying an additional 44,210 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 11.9% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 284,008 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $132,260,000 after buying an additional 30,122 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Moody’s by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 604,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $298,502,000 after acquiring an additional 98,951 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.1%

MCO stock opened at $490.25 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $487.09 and a 200 day moving average of $490.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.46 billion, a PE ratio of 39.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.22. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.92% and a return on equity of 63.58%. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.21 EPS. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total transaction of $558,934.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,255,223.90. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,569 shares of company stock worth $1,253,848. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $526.00 to $471.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Moody’s from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $543.07.

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.