Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida Invests $440,000 in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida invested approximately $440,000 by purchasing 877 shares of Moody's Corporation during the second quarter.
• Moody's reported a quarterly earnings of $3.56 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate, with a revenue of $1.90 billion, indicating a year-over-year growth of 4.5%.
• Equities analysts have recently increased their price targets for Moody's, with several firms setting targets between $534.00 and $595.00 per share, reflecting a positive outlook on the stock's performance.

Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida purchased a new position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 877 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of Moody's by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 762 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of Moody's by 42.9% during the 2nd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 80 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of Moody's stock opened at $512.32 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $91.71 billion, a PE ratio of 43.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.42. The company's 50-day moving average price is $508.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $479.63.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody's had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $540.57.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody'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 directly owned 61,618 shares in the company, valued at $32,130,706.10. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,386 shares in the company, valued at $705,238.38. The trade was a 51.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,599,385. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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