Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 60,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,529 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $30,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 50.0% in the 2nd 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 period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 42.9% in the second quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 80 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the second quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $487.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $481.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $492.22. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $87.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced 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 company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.92% and a return on equity of 63.58%. Moody’s’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.21 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total transaction of $558,934.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,569 shares of company stock valued at $1,253,848. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $520.00 price target on Moody’s in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $471.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $543.07.

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.