Mizuho Securities USA LLC Decreases Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

22 Nov 2024, 11:54 by Michael Walen · The Markets Daily

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lessened its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO – Free Report) by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,952 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Moody’s by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,918,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,228,382,000 after purchasing an additional 225,846 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 22.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,107,344,000 after buying an additional 430,878 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 133.9% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,277,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $958,481,000 after buying an additional 1,303,434 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Moody’s by 32.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $985,115,000 after acquiring an additional 502,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in Moody’s by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,980,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $833,450,000 after acquiring an additional 24,107 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $478.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $86.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.65, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $473.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $450.21. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $358.49 and a 52-week high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James lowered Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.00.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MCO

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