Federated Hermes Inc. Has $4.40 Million Stock Position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 72.6%, owning 9,455 shares valued at approximately $4.4 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Moody's recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.7%, set to be paid on September 5th.
• Analysts have raised their price targets on Moody's stock, with a consensus target price now at $538.80 and a general rating of “Moderate Buy” from several firms.

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 72.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,455 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,977 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $4,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in Moody's by 1,000.0% in the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $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% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Moody's by 132.6% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motco grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 581.3% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 109 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MCO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Mizuho upped their price target on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $538.80.

Moody's Trading Down 0.9%

MCO stock traded down $4.43 during trading on Thursday, reaching $513.06. The company had a trading volume of 249,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 803,144. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company has a market cap of $91.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.62, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.40. Moody's Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $494.60 and a 200 day moving average of $478.13.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total transaction of $1,083,701.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,841,138.44. This represents a 27.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total transaction of $1,893,114.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,195,619.90. This represents a 31.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,593 shares of company stock valued at $4,382,984. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.