Capital Fund Management S.A. Boosts Stake in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 144.2%, acquiring 34,112 additional shares, bringing its total to 57,766 shares valued at approximately $26.90 million.
• Moody's recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, with an ex-dividend date of August 15, resulting in a projected annual dividend yield of 0.7%.
• Moody's reported earnings of $3.56 per share in the latest quarter, exceeding estimates, and anticipates FY 2025 guidance at $13.50 - $14.00 EPS.

Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 144.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,766 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 34,112 shares during the period. Capital Fund Management S.A.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $26,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 1,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 5,050.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Moody's by 132.6% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motco raised its stake in Moody's by 581.3% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 109 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Price Performance

MCO stock traded up $6.0230 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $515.4930. The company had a trading volume of 642,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,775. The company has a market capitalization of $92.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.40. Moody's Corporation has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $502.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $480.03.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.28 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total transaction of $455,891.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,091,699.52. This represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at $4,195,619.90. This represents a 31.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,599,385. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $538.80.

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.