Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Cynosure Group LLC

Cynosure Group LLC lessened its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 61.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,711 shares during the quarter. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its stake in Moody’s by 1.4% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,574,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,291,568,000 after buying an additional 35,123 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 87.2% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 200,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $100,414,000 after acquiring an additional 93,244 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 604,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $298,502,000 after purchasing an additional 98,951 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $714,000. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its position in Moody’s by 43.8% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 43,286 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,712,000 after purchasing an additional 13,186 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $498.45 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $491.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $495.60. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $88.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.45.

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 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 analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.21 EPS. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $524.00 to $570.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.27.

Insider Activity

In related 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,154 shares of company stock valued at $1,041,098. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.