UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Has $769.09 Million Stock Holdings in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• UBS AM, a division of UBS Asset Management, increased its holdings in Moody's Corporation by 3.8% in the first quarter, now owning approximately $769.1 million worth of shares.
• Moody's CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares for a total of $216,401.75, reflecting a 0.67% decrease in his position.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, yielding about 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 31.95%.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,651,495 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 60,816 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 0.92% of Moody's worth $769,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in Moody's by 1,000.0% in 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 period. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Moody's in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Moody's by 5,050.0% in 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 period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Moody's in the first quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Moody's by 132.6% in 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 period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.45, for a total transaction of $216,401.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,130,706.10. This represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total value of $1,893,114.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,195,619.90. This trade represents a 31.09% 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 worth $4,599,385. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $507.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $507.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $479.28. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.93 billion, a PE ratio of 43.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.42.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.28 EPS. Moody's's quarterly revenue 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 is 31.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCO. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on 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, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $540.57.

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.

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