Shell Asset Management Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,188 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,115 shares during the quarter. Moody’s makes up about 0.6% of Shell Asset Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $18,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Slow Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.5% during the second quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 7,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,639,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 7.3% in the second quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 11,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,861,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 14.5% during the second quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 6,266 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,143,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $483.71 on Tuesday. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $86.58 billion, a PE ratio of 41.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $503.01 and its 200 day moving average is $482.19.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.28 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. 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 31.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.65, for a total transaction of $212,749.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,451,077.50. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total transaction of $1,893,114.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at $4,195,619.90. The trade was a 31.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,423 shares of company stock worth $4,812,135. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Moody’s from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $528.00 target price on Moody’s and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Moody’s from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $541.21.

Moody’s Profile

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.