Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) saw a slight decrease in its stake held by Barr E S & Co. during the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023, according to the company’s most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The filing revealed that Barr E S & Co. reduced its stake in Moody’s Co. shares by 0.8%, selling a total of 1,526 shares during this period. As a result, Barr E S & Co.’s investment portfolio now holds approximately 4.7% of Moody’s, making it the company’s fifth largest asset, worth $56,190,000 at the end of the reporting period.
Financial experts have commented on Moody’s stock, offering their insights on its future performance. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target for Moody’s from $328.00 to $362.00 and assigned a “neutral” rating on July 3rd. Bank of America also provided coverage on Moody’s, issuing a “buy” rating on Thursday, June 15th. Furthermore, Morgan Stanley raised their price target from $300.00 to $323.00 on July 10th, while Barclays increased their price objective from $300.00 to $350.00 on July 26th Additionally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective from $350.00 to $404.00 on July 26th.
Overall, seven investment analysts have given a hold rating to Moody’s stock and six have recommended buying shares in the company. According to Bloomberg data analysis, there is currently a consensus rating of “Hold” for Moody’s with an average target price of $325.53.
On September 10, 2023 shares of MCO were traded at a value of $339.77 during mid-day trading with a total volume exchange of 537,359 shares—an increase compared to the average volume of 469,105 shares. Moody’s stock has experienced a 1-year low of $230.16 and a high of $363.19. The company maintains a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, along with a current and quick ratio of 1.65. Additionally, it has shown a 50-day moving average of $342.94 and a 200-day moving average of $321.55.
As per data obtained on September 10, 2023, Moody’s boasts a market capitalization of $62.35 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.78 and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65—indicating that the market perceives positive growth prospects for the company in relation to its earnings potential. Furthermore, Moody’s exhibits a beta value of 1.30, illustrating its responsiveness to broader market movements.
In conclusion, Barr E S & Co.’s reduced stake in Moody’s during the first quarter reveals their decreased confidence in the company’s stock at that time. However, various financial institutions have offered mixed recommendations regarding Moody’s future performance—these include target price increases and buy ratings from respected sources such as The Goldman Sachs Group and Bank of America among others.
[bs_slider_forecast ticker=”WBA”]
Moody’s: Insights into Stock Holdings, Insider Trading, Analyst Ratings, and Financial Performance
Moody’s, a leading business services provider, has seen an influx of large investors making changes to their positions in the company’s stock. TCI Fund Management Ltd., for instance, increased its holdings by 12.6% during the first quarter, now owning 10,369,479 shares valued at $3,173,268,000. Similarly, Cloverfields Capital Group LP saw a boost of 2.3% in its Moody’s holdings during the same period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund and Veritable L.P. also experienced slight increases in their investments in Moody’s.
However, perhaps one of the more perplexing reports is that CEO Robert Fauber recently sold 282 shares of Moody’s stock on July 14th. The transaction took place at an average price of $351.24 per share resulting in a total sale value of $99,049.68. Following this sale, Fauber now owns 65,838 shares valued at approximately $23,124,939.12.
Insider Michael L. West also made headlines for selling 2,641 shares on July 31st at an average price of $352.79 per share totaling $931,718.39 in sales proceeds.
Notably, a disclosure filing with the SEC provides further details regarding these transactions.
Overall insider trading activity has been quite active recently with corporate insiders collectively selling over 24k shares of Moody’s stock worth $8.36 million during the last quarter alone.
Moving beyond insider trading news and onto Wall Street analysts’ ratings and target prices for Moody’s: The Goldman Sachs Group issued a “neutral” rating for the stock and boosted its price target from $328 to $362 per share on July 3rd; Bank of America initiated coverage with a “buy” rating on June 15th; Morgan Stanley increased its price target from $300 to $323 per share on July 10th; Barclays raised its price objective from $300 to $350 per share on July 26th; and Royal Bank of Canada upped its price target from $350 to $404 per share on the same day.
As of today, Moody’s has received a consensus rating of “Hold” based on available data from Bloomberg. The average target price for Moody’s is $325.53.
In terms of financial performance, Moody’s reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.30 for the quarter ending on July 25th, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.07. The company achieved a net margin of 25.81% and a return on equity of 55.98%. Moody’s generated revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter compared to a consensus estimate of $1.45 billion, representing an 8.2% increase year-over-year.
Looking ahead, analysts expect that Moody’s will post EPS of 10.07 for the current fiscal year.
Investors who held shares as of August 18th were paid a quarterly dividend worth $0.77 per share on September 8th. This represents an annualized dividend payout ratio of 39.69% and a yield of 0.91%.
Overall, with significant changes in stock holdings by large investors, insider trading activity, mixed ratings from analysts, strong quarterly financial performance, and regular dividend payouts, Moody’s remains an intriguing stock to watch in the coming months.
