Hilltop National Bank Takes Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Hilltop National Bank has acquired a new stake in Moody's Corporation, purchasing 1,456 shares valued at approximately $730,000.
• Several institutional investors have recently increased their holdings in Moody's, demonstrating significant interest as institutional ownership in the company now stands at 92.11%.
• Moody's reported earnings of $3.56 per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and reflecting a 4.5% year-over-year revenue growth.

Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,456 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $730,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 1,000.0% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Moody's during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in 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 valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Moody's in the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised Moody's to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Mizuho upped their price objective on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Moody's from $595.00 to $597.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $541.21.

Moody's Stock Performance

MCO opened at $481.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $86.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.42. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week 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. The business's fifty day moving average is $504.02 and its 200-day moving average is $481.48.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.Moody's's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.28 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total value 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 trade represents a 31.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total value of $455,891.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold a total of 9,423 shares of company stock valued at $4,812,135 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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