Moody's Corporation $MCO Stake Lifted by Shell Asset Management Co.

Key Points

• Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter, holding a total of 37,188 shares valued at approximately $18.65 million.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Robert Fauber selling 415 shares for over $212,000, while a senior vice president sold 1,457 shares for around $741,000, indicating significant transactions among company executives.
• Moody's reported a 12-month revenue increase of 4.5% year-over-year and beat earnings expectations, reporting $3.56 earnings per share against an expected $3.39.

Shell Asset Management Co. grew its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,188 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,115 shares during the quarter. Moody's comprises about 0.6% of Shell Asset Management Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $18,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Moody's by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 762 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its position in Moody's by 42.9% during the 2nd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 80 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 2.1% during the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 5.8% in the first quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 477 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business'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 value of $212,749.75. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total value of $741,365.31. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares in the company, valued at $705,238.38. The trade was a 51.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,423 shares of company stock worth $4,812,135 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. UBS Group boosted 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. Mizuho lifted their price target on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $541.21.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $483.71 on Tuesday. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.58 billion, a PE ratio of 41.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $503.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $482.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.94 dividend. 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 currently 31.95%.

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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