Raymond James Financial Inc. Sells 75,178 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. has reduced its stake in Moody's Corporation by 23.7%, now holding 242,493 shares worth approximately $112.9 million after selling 75,178 shares in the first quarter.
• Moody's announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.7%, and a dividend payout ratio of 31.95%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Moody's stock, with an average price target of $538.80 following recent upgrades from various research firms.

Raymond James Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 23.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 242,493 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 75,178 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Moody's worth $112,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody's by 5.5% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,048 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,214,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Moody's by 77,500.0% during the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 2,328 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Moody's by 289.8% during the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,282 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 2,440 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Moody's by 7.9% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 69,849 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,528,000 after acquiring an additional 5,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody's by 10.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,259 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,381,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

MCO stock traded up $6.0230 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $515.4930. The stock had a trading volume of 642,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,775. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.27 billion, a PE ratio of 43.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $502.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $480.14. 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.28 earnings per share. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is currently 31.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $538.80.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other 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 transaction of $1,893,114.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,195,619.90. This trade represents a 31.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total transaction of $1,083,701.60. Following the sale, the insider 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 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. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.