Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 10,260 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Congress Asset Management Co. lessened its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 195,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,260 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.11% of Moody’s worth $88,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 87.1% during the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 1,866.7% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $4.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $452.64. 583,302 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,068,052. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $480.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $464.81. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.56 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MCO. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Moody’s from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $512.00 price target on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total transaction of $710,468.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,166,165.20. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, and analytical tools. Through Moody’s Ratings, the company evaluates the creditworthiness of companies, governments, financial institutions, and structured finance securities, offering opinions and research used by investors, issuers, and other market participants.

Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, risk assessment tools, data, and software. Its products support credit and market risk management, compliance, portfolio analysis, lending, insurance, and corporate planning.

Moody’s traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody published an analysis of railroad securities.