Candriam S.C.A. Sells 12,959 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 33.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,727 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,959 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $12,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 84.3% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 49.3% in the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 547 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total transaction of $558,934.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,255,223.90. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 2,569 shares of company stock valued at $1,253,848 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial upgraded Moody’s from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $543.07.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MCO opened at $490.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The company has a market cap of $87.46 billion, a PE ratio of 39.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $487.09 and a 200 day moving average of $490.75.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

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.