Avanza Fonder AB Has $5.29 Million Stake in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Avanza Fonder AB has reduced its stake in Moody's Corporation by 11.6%, now owning 10,550 shares valued at $5.29 million after selling 1,385 shares.
• Moody's reported earnings per share (EPS) of $3.56, exceeding expectations, alongside a revenue increase of 4.5% year-over-year, totaling $1.90 billion for the quarter.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.8% and a payout ratio of approximately 31.95%.

Avanza Fonder AB lessened its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 11.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,550 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,385 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Moody's were worth $5,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,815,629 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,899,490,000 after purchasing an additional 119,548 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,651,495 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $769,085,000 after purchasing an additional 60,816 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Moody's by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,586,672 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $738,897,000 after purchasing an additional 140,128 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,530,582 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $712,777,000 after purchasing an additional 265,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,293,936 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $602,573,000 after purchasing an additional 14,557 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 news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $705,238.38. This trade represents a 51.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,091,699.52. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,423 shares of company stock worth $4,812,135. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Barclays increased their price target on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $540.71.

Moody's Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE MCO traded down $13.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $474.73. 534,904 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 782,738. The stock has a market cap of $84.98 billion, a PE ratio of 40.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.42. The company's fifty day moving average is $508.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $480.20. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.28 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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

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.