Emmett Investment Management LP Makes New $5.38 Million Investment in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Emmett Investment Management purchased 12,250 Moody’s shares worth approximately $5.38 million, making MCO about 4.1% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 92.11% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $553.61; several firms recently raised their targets to between $572 and $597.
• Moody’s reported quarterly earnings of $4.68 per share and revenue of $2.19 billion, beating estimates and increasing revenue 15.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, yielding about 0.8% annually.

Emmett Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 12,250 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,375,000. Moody's comprises about 4.1% of Emmett Investment Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,926 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,129,000 after acquiring an additional 3,773 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in Moody's by 39.0% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 104,264 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $45,486,000 after purchasing an additional 29,278 shares during the period. SummitTX Capital L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 980.9% in the 1st quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 14,722 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,422,000 after purchasing an additional 13,360 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 5,102.9% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 286,213 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $124,860,000 after purchasing an additional 280,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 1st quarter valued at $7,373,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $665,533.89. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,564 shares in the company, valued at $23,846,709.88. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 3,250 shares of company stock worth $1,495,098 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Moody's from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Moody's from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upped their target price on Moody's from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and set a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 price target on Moody's in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $553.61.

Moody's Trading Up 3.1%

NYSE:MCO opened at $486.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $84.18 billion, a PE ratio of 30.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34. The business's 50 day moving average is $465.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $464.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. Moody's Corporation has a 52 week low of $402.28 and a 52 week high of $546.88.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. Moody's had a return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 34.25%.The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.56 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 16.82 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.13%.

About Moody's

Moody's Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody's is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody's operates primarily through two complementary businesses.

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