Truist Financial Corp Lowers Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Truist Financial Corp cut its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,457 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $11,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 133.9% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,277,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $958,481,000 after buying an additional 1,303,434 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $141,336,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 41,992.9% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 279,918 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,826,000 after purchasing an additional 279,253 shares in the last quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 39.7% in the first quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC now owns 895,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $351,781,000 after purchasing an additional 254,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Moody’s by 8.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,918,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,228,382,000 after purchasing an additional 225,846 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $460.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The business’s 50 day moving average is $472.99 and its 200 day moving average is $429.84. The stock has a market cap of $84.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $298.86 and a 52-week high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Moody’s from $420.00 to $451.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $483.85.

About Moody’s

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.