AGF Management Ltd. Sells 3,051 Shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Key Points

• AGF Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Moody's Corporation by 5.0%, selling 3,051 shares, resulting in a current holding of 58,452 shares valued at approximately $27.2 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have adjusted their positions in Moody's, with some increasing their stakes significantly, contributing to institutional ownership of 92.11% of the stock.
• Moody's reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.56, exceeding estimates, and has announced a dividend of $0.94 per share, indicating a strong financial performance amidst increasing analyst price targets.

AGF Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,452 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,051 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $27,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Moody's by 2.4% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 41,422 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $19,290,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Ballast Inc. acquired a new stake in Moody's during the first quarter worth about $286,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 18.4% in the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 740 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. SouthState Corp boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 37.3% in the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 442 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 0.4% in the first quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 58,507 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,246,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $538.80.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $705,238.38. The trade was a 51.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total value of $455,891.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at $1,091,699.52. The trade was a 29.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,593 shares of company stock valued at $4,382,984. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE MCO traded down $3.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $516.57. 407,390 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 792,888. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $498.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $479.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $92.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.89, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.90 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

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.