Quantbot Technologies LP Increases Stock Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 219.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,576 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,518 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 50.0% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO opened at $489.22 on Friday. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.28 billion, a PE ratio of 39.33, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $482.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $492.19.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released 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 company had revenue of $2.01 billion during 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%. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCO. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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, October 23rd. Evercore ISI increased 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. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Moody’s from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $520.00 price objective on Moody’s in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Moody’s from $526.00 to $471.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. One research 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $543.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at $29,255,223.90. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 2,569 shares of company stock worth $1,253,848 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.