Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $2.26 Million Holdings in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 19.3% in the second quarter, owning 4,515 shares valued at $2.26 million by the end of the period.
• Moody's reported a 4.5% year-over-year revenue growth in its latest earnings, with earnings per share of $3.56, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• Approximately 92.11% of Moody's stock is held by institutional investors and hedge funds, indicating strong institutional support.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,515 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $2,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in Moody's by 1,000.0% during the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Moody's during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Moody's by 50.0% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its position in Moody's by 42.9% during the second quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 80 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Moody's during the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $478.32 on Thursday. Moody's Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.41. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $498.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $482.71.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.28 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. As a group, research 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 was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.95%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $512.65, for a total value of $212,749.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,350 shares in the company, valued at $31,451,077.50. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 directly owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,195,619.90. This represents a 31.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock valued at $4,603,224. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MCO. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised 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, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $543.27.

Moody's 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.

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