Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Sells 2,994 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG trimmed its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,960 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,994 shares during the quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $24,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE MCO opened at $511.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $91.18 billion, a PE ratio of 41.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $491.31 and a 200-day moving average of $495.11. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, October 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Moody’s from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. One equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $543.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total value of $558,934.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,255,223.90. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,154 shares of company stock worth $1,041,098. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.