Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Raises Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

by · The Markets Daily

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lifted its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO – Free Report) by 37.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 111,712 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 30,311 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned 0.06% of Moody’s worth $53,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 64.6% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 18,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,616,000 after purchasing an additional 7,263 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the first quarter worth about $222,000. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 10.7% during the first quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 964 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 120.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,124,000 after buying an additional 20,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 3.5% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 175,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $81,959,000 after buying an additional 5,942 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,255,223.90. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 2,154 shares of company stock worth $1,041,098 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $511.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $91.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $491.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $495.11.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 63.58% and a net margin of 29.92%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.21 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial upgraded Moody’s from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $520.00 target price on Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Moody’s from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $597.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $471.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $543.40.

Read Our Latest Report on MCO

Moody’s Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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