Cerity Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,647 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $19,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter worth $28,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 42.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth about $47,000. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,255,223.90. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,569 shares of company stock valued at $1,253,848. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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 report on Friday, October 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Mizuho raised their price target on Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $528.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $543.07.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $486.55 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $483.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $492.62. The stock has a market cap of $86.80 billion, a PE ratio of 39.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.45. 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.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.21 EPS. 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. On average, equities analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Moody’s 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.