Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership decreased its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 27.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 185,665 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 69,532 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.10% of Moody’s worth $93,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. ORG Partners LLC grew 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its position 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $29,255,223.90. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 2,569 shares of company stock valued at $1,253,848 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Moody’s from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $597.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, October 31st. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $543.07.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $491.78 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $482.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $492.22.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.21 earnings per share. The firm’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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

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.