Benchstone Capital Management LP Trims Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Benchstone Capital Management LP has significantly reduced its stake in Moody's Corporation by 89.5%, selling 69,239 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with just 8,144 shares valued at approximately $3.79 million.
• Multiple analysts have increased their price targets for Moody's, with Barclays raising it from $520 to $580 and Wells Fargo lifting it from $573 to $595, reflecting a positive outlook on the company's performance.
• Moody's recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, indicating a dividend yield of 0.7% with a payout ratio of 31.95%.

Benchstone Capital Management LP trimmed its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 89.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,144 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 69,239 shares during the quarter. Benchstone Capital Management LP's holdings in Moody's were worth $3,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted 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 purchasing an additional 10,350 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Moody's in the fourth quarter worth about $1,040,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Moody's by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 14,419 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,826,000 after purchasing an additional 4,163 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.45, for a total value of $216,401.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,130,706.10. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at $1,091,699.52. The trade was a 29.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,599,385 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $2.68 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $499.12. 705,397 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 776,328. Moody's Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93. The company has a market cap of $89.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.41, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $507.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $480.01.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business'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. Equities analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $540.57.

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.