Moody’s Corporation $MCO Stake Reduced by NatWest Group plc

NatWest Group plc reduced its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 25.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,588 shares during the quarter. Moody’s comprises approximately 2.5% of NatWest Group plc’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. NatWest Group plc’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $8,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at $30,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 50.0% in 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 period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 42.9% during the second quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 80 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 5,050.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $490.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $87.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $493.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $484.77. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 63.58% and a net margin of 29.92%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.21 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays upped their price target on Moody’s from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Moody’s from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Moody’s from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total transaction of $455,891.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at $1,091,699.52. This represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.09, for a total value of $199,652.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,385,939.38. This represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,423 shares of company stock worth $4,802,876 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Company Profile

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.