Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Purchased by Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 279.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,748 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,865 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $7,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 3,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Burney Co. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 2.2% during the third quarter. Burney Co. now owns 5,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,803,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Moody’s by 87.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,591 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 13.9% in the third quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 12,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,724,000 after acquiring an additional 1,464 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other 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 value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 2,154 shares of company stock worth $1,041,098 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $520.80 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 fifty day moving average of $488.40 and a 200 day moving average of $494.17. The firm has a market cap of $92.91 billion, a PE ratio of 41.86, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion for 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 period last year, the firm posted $3.21 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders 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 was Friday, November 21st. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 30.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Moody’s from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $531.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $543.40.

Moody’s Company Profile

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.