Moody’s Corporation $MCO Position Lowered by Canoe Financial LP

Canoe Financial LP decreased its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 412,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,500 shares during the quarter. Moody’s makes up about 2.8% of Canoe Financial LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Canoe Financial LP owned approximately 0.23% of Moody’s worth $196,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 7,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,712,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 2.0% in the second quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 50.0% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Moody’s by 3.1% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 762 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 3.4% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 693 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE MCO opened at $516.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $92.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.51, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $487.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $493.93. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. The firm’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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s 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 transaction of $558,934.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares in the company, 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 this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,154 shares of company stock worth $1,041,098. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the subject 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. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $471.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $531.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $543.40.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.