Moody's Corporation $MCO is Akre Capital Management LLC's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Akre Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Moody's Corporation by 20.9%, owning approximately $1.13 billion worth of shares, making it their third largest position.
• Moody's announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, scheduled for payment on September 5th, reflecting a yield of 0.7%.
• Recent upgrades from various analysts have raised Moody's price target, with estimates reaching as high as $580, while maintaining a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Akre Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,435,458 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 643,469 shares during the period. Moody's comprises approximately 10.9% of Akre Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Akre Capital Management LLC owned 1.35% of Moody's worth $1,134,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Moody's by 55,808.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 802,850 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $373,879,000 after purchasing an additional 801,414 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody's during the first quarter worth $328,595,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,729 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $841,050,000 after purchasing an additional 302,453 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 21.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,530,582 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $712,777,000 after purchasing an additional 265,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 142.4% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 71,040 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,083,000 after purchasing an additional 238,569 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MCO. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $538.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,195,619.90. This represents a 31.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.45, for a total transaction of $216,401.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,130,706.10. This represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,008 shares of company stock valued at $4,599,385 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $2.9740 on Wednesday, reaching $514.9740. The company's stock had a trading volume of 314,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 789,058. The stock's 50-day moving average is $500.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $479.65. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.75, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Moody's had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.28 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

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.