Comerica Bank Has $22.63 Million Stock Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its ownership in Moody's Corporation by 44.9%, acquiring an additional 15,054 shares, bringing their total holdings to 48,593 shares valued at approximately $22.63 million.
• Several hedge funds have recently altered their stakes in Moody's, with institutional investors now owning 92.11% of the company's stock.
• Moody's reported strong quarterly earnings results, with an EPS of $3.56 and revenues of $1.90 billion, surpassing analyst expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share.

Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 44.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,593 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,054 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Moody's were worth $22,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCO. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 5,050.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the first quarter worth about $49,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody's by 132.6% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motco raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 581.3% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 109 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,091,699.52. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total transaction of $1,893,114.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at $4,195,619.90. This trade represents a 31.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock valued at $4,599,385. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moody's Stock Down 0.0%

Moody's stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $509.92. 506,869 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 651,914. Moody's Corporation has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $504.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $480.35. 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 $91.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.40.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. The company 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 firm's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.28 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note 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 research note on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $538.80.

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.