MCF Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 1,000.0% in the 1st 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 bought a new position in Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Moody’s by 42.9% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 5,050.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE MCO opened at $489.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.53 billion, a PE ratio of 41.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $508.06 and a 200 day moving average of $480.20. 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.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. 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 is 31.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $595.00 to $597.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $540.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total value of $455,891.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,091,699.52. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $512.65, for a total transaction of $212,749.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,423 shares of company stock worth $4,812,135. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.