Okabena Investment Services Inc. Has $2.35 Million Holdings in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Okabena Investment Services Inc. increased its holdings in Moody's Corporation by 62.2%, bringing its stake to 5,037 shares valued at $2.35 million as of the most recent SEC filing.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Moody's, with JPMorgan Chase increasing its target from $495 to $565 and a consensus average target of $538.80 indicating a strong outlook for the stock.
• Moody's has reported impressive earnings results, posting $3.56 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and anticipates a fiscal year guidance of 13.500-14.000 EPS for FY 2025.

Okabena Investment Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 62.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,037 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,932 shares during the period. Okabena Investment Services Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $2,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 5.5% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,048 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,214,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 77,500.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 2,328 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 11.9% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 527,518 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $244,817,000 after purchasing an additional 56,273 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 289.8% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,282 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 7.9% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 69,849 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,528,000 after purchasing an additional 5,095 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $538.80.

Moody's Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $509.79. 483,603 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 582,619. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $506.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $479.86. The company has a market capitalization of $91.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.42. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.28 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.95%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total value of $1,083,701.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,841,138.44. This represents a 27.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.45, for a total transaction of $216,401.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,130,706.10. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,599,385. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.