Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 50.0% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Moody’s by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 762 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased 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 purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 5.8% in the first quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 477 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:MCO opened at $488.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.40 billion, a PE ratio of 41.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.41. 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 Corporation has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $502.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $482.23.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.28 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. On average, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total transaction of $741,365.31. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,238.38. This represents a 51.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $512.65, for a total transaction of $212,749.75. Following the sale, 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 90 days, insiders sold 9,423 shares of company stock valued at $4,812,135. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Moody’s from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Moody’s from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Moody’s from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $541.21.

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.