Advisors Asset Management Inc. Takes $734,000 Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $734,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 7,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,712,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 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. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accretive Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 0.9% in the second quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,753 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $487.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $481.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $492.23. The stock has a market cap of $86.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.15, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.40. 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.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.22. Moody’s had a return on equity of 63.58% and a net margin of 29.92%.The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.21 EPS. The company’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. Research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $528.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Moody’s from $580.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $543.07.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total transaction of $558,934.65. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,569 shares of company stock valued at $1,253,848. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.