Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Acquired by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 2.5%, acquiring a total of 71,591 shares valued at approximately $35.9 million during the second quarter.
• CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock, reducing his ownership by 0.67%, while CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares, reflecting a 29.46% decrease in her position.
• Moody's reported a quarterly EPS of $3.92, exceeding expectations, with revenues of $2.01 billion for the quarter, marking a 10.7% increase year-over-year.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,591 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,742 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $35,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 107.6% in the second quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 81,401 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,829,000 after acquiring an additional 42,186 shares during the period. AlTi Global Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 16.5% in the second quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,093,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 27.2% in the second quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC now owns 9,157 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,960 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 23.6% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,051 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 33.3% in the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,980 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.09, for a total value of $199,652.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,385,939.38. This represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,091,699.52. This represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,423 shares of company stock valued at $4,802,876 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MCO. Morgan Stanley set a $520.00 price target on Moody's in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Mizuho increased their price target on Moody's from $532.00 to $539.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Moody's from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Moody's from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $542.33.

Moody's Trading Up 2.3%

NYSE:MCO opened at $490.54 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $493.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $484.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.43, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.84. Moody's Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 63.58% and a net margin of 29.92%.Moody's's revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.21 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

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.

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