Simplicity Wealth LLC Takes Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,023,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1,000.0% during the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 50.0% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total transaction of $741,365.31. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,238.38. This trade represents a 51.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.65, for a total value of $212,749.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,350 shares in the company, valued at $31,451,077.50. The trade was 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 have sold 9,423 shares of company stock worth $4,812,135. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on Moody’s from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Moody’s from $595.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $541.21.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.6%

MCO opened at $485.21 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $86.85 billion, a PE ratio of 41.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $503.47 and its 200-day moving average is $482.02. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) 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. Moody’s had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.28 earnings per share. Moody’s’s 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. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.