Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 641 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 47.6%, owning 1,988 shares valued at approximately $926,000.
• Moody's reported earnings of $3.56 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a projected FY 2025 guidance set between 13.500 - 14.000 EPS.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.7%, to be paid on September 5th.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 47.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,988 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aviso Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Moody's by 4.5% in the first quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 1,449 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Moody's by 41.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,537 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC boosted its stake in Moody's by 3.1% in the first quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC now owns 4,461 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,077,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Makena Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Moody's by 83.7% in the first quarter. Makena Capital Management LLC now owns 47,665 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $22,197,000 after buying an additional 21,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, George Kaiser Family Foundation purchased a new stake in Moody's in the first quarter worth approximately $280,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $6.0230 during trading on Friday, reaching $515.4930. 642,948 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 686,497. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.40. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $502.31 and its 200-day moving average is $480.03.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.28 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $538.80.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.45, for a total transaction of $216,401.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,618 shares in the company, valued at $32,130,706.10. This represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,091,699.52. This represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock valued at $4,599,385 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

About Moody's

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.