Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd Acquires 3,475 Shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Key Points

• Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 0.3%, owning a total of 1,086,565 shares valued at approximately $506 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Moody's reported a Q2 earnings per share of $3.56, surpassing estimates, with revenues reaching $1.90 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 4.5%.
• The stock received multiple upgrades from research firms, with target prices raised to as high as $580, indicating strong growth potential and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd raised its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,086,565 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,475 shares during the period. Moody's accounts for approximately 8.5% of Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd owned approximately 0.60% of Moody's worth $506,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Moody's by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Carson Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody's by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Moody's by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Moody's by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Moody's by 2.1% in the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $538.80.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of Moody's stock traded up $1.55 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $509.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 170,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 794,923. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $489.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $476.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. Moody's Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93. The stock has a market cap of $91.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.38.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The firm 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%. Moody's's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.28 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Moody's's payout ratio is 31.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,153,412.40. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Company Profile

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.