Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Purchased by Marks Group Wealth Management Inc

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc increased its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,364 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the quarter. Moody’s accounts for approximately 1.3% of Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $14,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 5.1% in the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 953 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 933.1% in the first quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 4,153 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 3,751 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 293.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 8,864 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,128,000 after acquiring an additional 6,611 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 5.8% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Moody’s from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $528.00 target price on Moody’s and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Moody’s from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Moody’s from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $541.21.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of 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. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.22, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $503.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $482.02.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,558 shares in the company, valued at $2,841,138.44. This represents a 27.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total value of $1,893,114.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,195,619.90. The trade was a 31.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,423 shares of company stock worth $4,812,135 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.