American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stake in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Moody's Corporation by 22.8%, owning 28,028 shares valued at approximately $13.05 million post-purchase.
• Moody's stock has received multiple price target increases from analysts, with a consensus target of $538.80 and most analysts rating it a Moderate Buy.
• In its latest quarterly earnings report, Moody's beat expectations with $3.56 EPS and $1.90 billion in revenue, reflecting a 4.5% year-over-year revenue growth.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 22.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,028 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,202 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $13,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 1,000.0% in 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 during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 5,050.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Moody's in the first quarter valued at $49,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Moody's by 132.6% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motco grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $0.36 on Friday, hitting $509.79. 483,602 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 780,288. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $505.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $480.39. The company has a market cap of $91.25 billion, a PE ratio of 43.31, a PEG ratio of 3.26 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 company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

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, 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 analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.28 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In related news, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,091,699.52. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of Moody'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 transaction of $1,083,701.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,841,138.44. This trade represents a 27.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,599,385. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $538.80.

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.