Caxton Associates LLP Makes New Investment in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP has acquired a new stake in Moody's Corporation, purchasing 790 shares valued at approximately $368,000.
• Insider trading activity shows significant sales, with Michael L. West selling 3,704 shares and Richard G. Steele selling 1,457 shares, representing a marked decrease in ownership for both individuals.
• Moody's recently reported $3.56 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, alongside an annualized dividend rate of $3.76, reflecting a yield of 0.7%.

Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 790 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC raised its position in Moody's by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody's by 5.7% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 482 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total transaction of $455,891.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at $1,091,699.52. This represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total transaction of $741,365.31. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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. Insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,599,385 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

NYSE MCO traded down $3.61 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $508.70. The company had a trading volume of 585,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 569,074. The business has a 50 day moving average of $508.81 and a 200-day moving average of $479.66. The company has a market cap of $91.06 billion, a PE ratio of 43.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.42. Moody's Corporation has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. 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 posted its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.28 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS 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. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 31.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $540.57.

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.