Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,601 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $6,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 3.1% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 73,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.4% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted 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 valued at $100,414,000 after buying an additional 93,244 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 604,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $298,502,000 after buying an additional 98,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its stake in Moody’s by 43.8% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 43,286 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,712,000 after acquiring an additional 13,186 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total transaction of $558,934.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,255,223.90. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,739 shares of company stock valued at $841,445 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.0%

MCO stock opened at $539.37 on Friday. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $501.28 and a 200-day moving average of $498.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.22 billion, a PE ratio of 43.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.45.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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. As a group, analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MCO. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Mizuho upped their target price on Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $528.00 price target on Moody’s and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $560.94.

Moody’s Company Profile

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.