Maseco LLP Makes New $277,000 Investment in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Maseco LLP has invested approximately $277,000 in Moody's Corporation by purchasing 553 shares, reflecting continued interest from institutional investors.
• Moody's recently reported a $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, with a revenue of $1.90 billion, up 4.5% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, with an annual yield of 0.8%, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 553 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 42.9% in the second quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 80 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 5,050.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Moody's news, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,195,619.90. The trade was a 31.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.65, for a total transaction of $212,749.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,451,077.50. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,423 shares of company stock worth $4,812,135. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moody's Trading Down 2.5%

Moody's stock opened at $476.32 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $85.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $507.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $480.17.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.28 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 31.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $540.71.

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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