Caxton Associates LLP Increases Stock Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Caxton Associates LLP grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 673.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,321 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,006,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,527,360,000 after buying an additional 191,368 shares in the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.6% in the second quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. now owns 13,246,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,644,552,000 after acquiring an additional 83,872 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,888,788 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,943,418,000 after acquiring an additional 69,455 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 1.4% in the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,574,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,291,568,000 after purchasing an additional 35,123 shares during the period. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,311,020 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,159,185,000 after purchasing an additional 215,551 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $486.48 on Monday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $483.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $492.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.45.

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

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was 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. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,154 shares of company stock valued at $1,041,098. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, October 31st. 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, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $543.07.

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.