Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Has $1.95 Million Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Moody's Corporation by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter, now owning shares valued at approximately $1.95 million.
• Moody's Corporation recently beat analysts' EPS estimates by reporting $3.56 for the quarter and is experiencing a year-over-year revenue growth of 4.5%.
• Ten analysts have rated Moody's stock with a Buy rating, while five issued a Hold rating, with an average target price of $540.71.

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,883 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,328 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $1,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Moody's by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 762 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Moody's by 42.9% in the 2nd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 80 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Moody's by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Moody's by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 477 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisory LLC increased its stake in Moody's by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 1,169 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of MCO opened at $474.83 on Thursday. Moody's Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The firm has a market cap of $84.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $507.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $480.14. 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 (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody's had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.28 EPS. Moody's's quarterly 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 forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $595.00 to $597.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $540.71.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total value of $1,893,114.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,195,619.90. The trade was a 31.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total transaction of $1,083,701.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,841,138.44. This represents a 27.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,423 shares of company stock worth $4,812,135. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.

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