Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Position Increased by Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 15.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 947 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 127 shares during the quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. abrdn plc boosted its stake in Moody’s by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 143,972 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,230,000 after purchasing an additional 33,540 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 946 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $372,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Moody’s by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 15,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,100,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MCO stock traded up $1.93 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $475.47. 509,783 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 734,411. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $441.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $408.06. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $476.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.82 billion, a PE ratio of 51.91, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.28.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $456.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.07% 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.