Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 7.8%, acquiring an additional 3,876 shares, bringing its total holdings to 53,778 shares valued at approximately $25 million.
• Notable insider activity includes Stephen T. Tulenko, who sold 2,120 shares of Moody's, and CEO Robert Fauber, who sold 415 shares, indicating ongoing stock movement among company insiders.
• Moody's reported a quarterly earnings of $3.56 per share, surpassing expectations, with revenues of $1.90 billion, reflecting a 4.5% year-over-year increase.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,778 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,876 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $25,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Moody's by 0.5% during the first quarter. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC now owns 10,012 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,693,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Moody's by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 41,422 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $19,290,000 after buying an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Inc. purchased a new position in Moody's in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Moody's by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 740 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SouthState Corp grew its stake in Moody's by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 442 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Down 0.9%

MCO stock traded down $4.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $516.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 410,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 794,055. The company has a market cap of $92.47 billion, a PE ratio of 43.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's 50-day moving average is $498.69 and its 200-day moving average is $479.41. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. 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 released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $538.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the business'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 approximately $705,238.38. The trade was a 51.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total value of $208,911.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,153,412.40. 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 quarter, insiders sold 8,593 shares of company stock valued at $4,382,984. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.