American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Sep 4th, 2023

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO – Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,829 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $8,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Exos TFP Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 46.3% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 196 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 90.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.04, for a total value of $100,694.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 891 shares in the company, valued at $302,084.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 418 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $143,846.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 65,838 shares in the company, valued at $22,656,830.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.04, for a total value of $100,694.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,084.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,483 shares of company stock worth $8,360,390. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on Moody’s from $300.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Moody’s from $328.00 to $362.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Moody’s from $350.00 to $404.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Moody’s from $346.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $325.53.

View Our Latest Analysis on MCO

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $339.32 on Monday. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $230.16 and a 12 month high of $363.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $343.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $320.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.27 billion, a PE ratio of 43.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.07. Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.98% and a net margin of 25.81%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 17th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 39.69%.

Moody’s Company Profile

(Free Report)

Moody's Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody's Investors Service and Moody's Analytics. The Moody's Investors Service segment publishes credit ratings and provides assessment services on various debt obligations, programs and facilities, and entities that issue such obligations, such as various corporate, financial institution, and governmental obligations, as well as and structured finance securities.