Baird Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 42.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,732 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,770 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $5,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter worth $30,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 50.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 42.9% in the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth $47,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $486.55 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $483.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $492.62. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.21 earnings per share. The company’s 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, research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Moody’s from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Mizuho upped 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $543.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at $29,255,223.90. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,569 shares of company stock worth $1,253,848. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.