NatWest Group plc Takes Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• NatWest Group plc made a new investment of approximately $10.31 million in shares of Moody's Corporation, acquiring 22,136 shares, which now make up 3.0% of its total holdings.
• Several analysts have recently raised their price targets for Moody's stock, with UBS adjusting theirs from $445 to $515, while JPMorgan increased theirs from $495 to $565, reflecting a generally positive outlook.
• Moody's announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, representing a 0.8% dividend yield, to be paid on September 5th to shareholders of record as of August 15th.

NatWest Group plc acquired a new position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 22,136 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,309,000. Moody's comprises 3.0% of NatWest Group plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Moody's by 55,808.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 802,850 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $373,879,000 after acquiring an additional 801,414 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Moody's during the first quarter valued at approximately $328,595,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Moody's by 21.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,530,582 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $712,777,000 after acquiring an additional 265,389 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Moody's by 142.4% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 71,040 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,083,000 after acquiring an additional 238,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Moody's by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,590,679 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $752,980,000 after acquiring an additional 220,681 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other Moody's news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total transaction of $741,365.31. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,386 shares in the company, valued at $705,238.38. This represents a 51.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,599,385 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MCO. Barclays lifted their price target on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $540.57.

Moody's Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE MCO traded down $0.76 on Friday, reaching $499.00. 565,180 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 543,850. The business's fifty day moving average price is $507.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $479.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.42. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.28 EPS. The company's quarterly 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. Analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is 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.