United Services Automobile Association Takes $1.73 Million Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association acquired a $1.73 million stake in Moody's Corporation, purchasing 3,743 shares during the 1st quarter.
• Insiders at Moody's have sold a total of 9,008 shares worth $4.6 million over the last three months, indicating a reduction in their positions.
• Several analysts have increased their price forecasts for Moody's stock, with the consensus target now standing at $540.57 following recent upgrades.

United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,743 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,727,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MCO. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Moody's by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,715,000 after acquiring an additional 10,350 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $186,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Moody's by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,242 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Moody's by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,344 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Moody's by 104.2% during the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total value of $741,365.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,386 shares in the company, valued at $705,238.38. This trade represents a 51.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total value of $1,083,701.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,841,138.44. The trade was a 27.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,599,385 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten equities research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $540.57.

Moody's Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $499.00 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $507.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $479.22. The stock has a market cap of $89.32 billion, a PE ratio of 42.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.42. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.The company's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.28 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.95%.

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.

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