Forum Financial Management LP Decreases Stock Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Forum Financial Management LP cut its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 10.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 669 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 82 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 5,050.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of MCO opened at $490.54 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $493.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $485.70. The firm has a market cap of $87.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.43, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.09, for a total transaction of $199,652.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,385,939.38. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total value of $1,083,701.60. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,423 shares of company stock valued at $4,802,876 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Moody’s from $531.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays lifted their price target on Moody’s from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $528.00 price target on Moody’s and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. One investment 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 MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.33.

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.