Strs Ohio Takes Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has made a new investment in Moody's Corporation, acquiring 54,582 shares valued at approximately $25.4 million during Q1, according to a recent SEC filing.
• Insiders at Moody's have sold significant amounts of stock recently, with CEO Robert Fauber selling shares valued at around $216,401, indicating a 0.67% decrease in his ownership.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Moody's stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $540.57.

Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 54,582 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $25,418,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 5,050.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the first quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 132.6% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total transaction of $455,891.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,091,699.52. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.45, for a total transaction of $216,401.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer 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. Insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,599,385 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

MCO traded down $3.61 during trading on Monday, reaching $508.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 585,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 569,074. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The company's fifty day moving average price is $508.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $479.66. The company has a market capitalization of $91.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.42. 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 (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.28 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Mizuho raised their price target on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $540.57.

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.