Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Bought by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 64.6%, acquiring an additional 7,263 shares, bringing its total holdings to 18,502 shares valued at approximately $8.6 million.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Robert Fauber selling 415 shares valued at over $216,000, while other executives significantly reduced their shares as well, with insiders collectively selling 9,008 shares worth nearly $4.6 million in the last 90 days.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Moody's stock, with price targets ranging from $534 to $565, reflecting confidence in the company's performance amid increasing institutional interest.

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 64.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,502 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,263 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $8,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,715,000 after buying an additional 10,350 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Moody's by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 227,228 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $107,548,000 after purchasing an additional 32,633 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,589 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,700,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 4,020.1% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 65,798 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,147,000 after acquiring an additional 64,201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of MCO traded up $6.78 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $505.81. The company had a trading volume of 341,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 774,257. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $507.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $479.22. 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 $90.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.98, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.42. Moody's Corporation has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $531.93.

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

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.45, for a total transaction of $216,401.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,130,706.10. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total transaction of $1,893,114.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,195,619.90. The trade was a 31.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,599,385 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $540.57.

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.