Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Acquires 1,144 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 25%, acquiring an additional 1,144 shares, bringing its total holdings to 5,715 shares valued at approximately $2.66 million.
• Moody's reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.56, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.17, with revenue reaching $1.90 billion, up 4.5% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, which translates to an annualized rate of $3.76, and a dividend yield of 0.7% based on recent stock prices.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 25.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,715 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,144 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $2,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the 1st quarter valued at about $251,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in Moody's by 0.9% in the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 43,243 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $20,138,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Ted Buchan & Co bought a new position in Moody's during the first quarter valued at approximately $445,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Moody's by 65.0% during the first quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,490 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 2.7% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,137 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,981,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of MCO traded down $4.9810 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $509.9690. 204,795 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 786,334. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company's fifty day moving average price is $500.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $479.90. The company has a market capitalization of $91.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 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 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 prior year, the firm earned $3.28 earnings per share. Moody's's 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. Equities research analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MCO shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $538.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.45, for a total transaction of $216,401.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,130,706.10. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total value of $1,083,701.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,558 shares in the company, valued at $2,841,138.44. The trade was a 27.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock valued at $4,599,385. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.