Prospera Financial Services Inc Takes Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,446,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 50.0% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Moody’s by 42.9% in the second 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. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the second quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $492.42 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $487.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $490.76. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $87.85 billion, a PE ratio of 39.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.92% and a return on equity of 63.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.21 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $471.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $528.00 target price on shares of Moody’s and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Moody’s from $597.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $543.07.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total value of $558,934.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,255,223.90. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 2,984 shares of company stock worth $1,470,249 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.