Carderock Capital Management Inc. Sells 3,468 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Carderock Capital Management Inc. has reduced its holding in Moody's Corporation by 17.3%, now owning 16,613 shares valued at approximately $8.33 million.
• Insider transactions show significant activity, with Stephen T. Tulenko selling over 2,120 shares, and overall insiders selling 9,423 shares worth around $4.81 million in the last three months.
• Moody's Corporation reported $3.56 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, and has set FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS.

Carderock Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 17.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,613 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,468 shares during the quarter. Moody's accounts for 2.1% of Carderock Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Carderock Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $8,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCO. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 1,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 5,050.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded down $9.55 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $478.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 253,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 780,902. 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. The business's 50 day moving average price is $508.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $480.20. The company has a market cap of $85.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.42.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.28 earnings per share. The firm'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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $512.65, for a total transaction of $212,749.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,451,077.50. This represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total transaction of $455,891.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,423 shares of company stock valued at $4,812,135. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $540.71.

About Moody's

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.