Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its holdings in Moody's Corporation by 1.8%, owning 34,227 shares worth approximately $17.17 million after selling 618 shares.
• Moody's recently reported a Q2 EPS of $3.56, surpassing analyst estimates, with revenues of $1.90 billion, a 4.5% increase from the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, with a yield of 0.8% and a payout ratio of 31.95%.

Fifth Third Bancorp decreased its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,227 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 618 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Moody's were worth $17,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Moody's in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of Moody's by 42.9% during the second quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 80 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring 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 $47,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $474.83 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $507.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $480.14. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $84.99 billion, a PE ratio of 40.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.42.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. Moody's's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.28 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. 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 payout ratio is 31.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at $4,195,619.90. This represents a 31.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total transaction of $1,083,701.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,841,138.44. This represents a 27.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,423 shares of company stock valued at $4,812,135 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MCO. Barclays boosted their target price on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $540.71.

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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