Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Moody's Corporation by 10.3%, owning 54,269 shares valued at approximately $25.27 million after selling 6,206 shares.
• Several analysts have updated their ratings for Moody's, with recent target price increases from firms like Barclays and JPMorgan, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $538.80.
• Moody's recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 31.95%, set to be paid on September 5th.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 10.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,269 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,206 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Moody's were worth $25,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 1,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the first quarter valued at about $49,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motco lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 581.3% in the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 109 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total value 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 trade represents a 31.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total transaction of $455,891.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at $1,091,699.52. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock valued at $4,599,385. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Up 0.7%

Moody's stock traded up $3.56 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $515.56. 290,339 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 788,970. The company has a market cap of $92.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.40. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $500.24 and a 200-day moving average of $479.65.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.28 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $538.80.

Moody's 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.