Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

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Northern Trust Corp lessened its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,761,100 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 15,629 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.98% of Moody's worth $820,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 buying an additional 801,414 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Moody's during the first quarter worth about $328,595,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $712,777,000 after acquiring an additional 265,389 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted 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 worth $33,083,000 after acquiring an additional 238,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted 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 worth $752,980,000 after acquiring an additional 220,681 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at $4,195,619.90. This trade represents a 31.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total transaction of $741,365.31. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $705,238.38. This trade represents a 51.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,599,385. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $538.80.

Moody's Stock Up 1.2%

MCO traded up $6.0230 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $515.4930. 642,948 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 688,775. Moody's Corporation has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $502.31 and a 200 day moving average of $480.14. The firm has a market cap of $92.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.40. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody's had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm 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. Analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.