GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. Sells 2,965 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. trimmed its Moody’s stake by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,965 shares and still holding 158,415 shares worth about $80.9 million. Moody’s remains its third-largest holding, representing 8.6% of the portfolio.
• Several analysts remain constructive on Moody’s, with the stock carrying an average “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $541.83. Recent firm targets ranged from $489 to $565.
• Moody’s reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS expectations with $4.33 per share and posting 8.1% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, equal to a 0.9% yield.

GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 158,415 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,965 shares during the quarter. Moody's comprises approximately 8.6% of GFI Investment Counsel Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. owned about 0.09% of Moody's worth $80,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Moody's in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in Moody's during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Moody's in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Moody's from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $565.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $541.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business'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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $665,533.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,846,709.88. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,137,306. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:MCO opened at $451.20 on Friday. Moody's Corporation has a 52 week low of $402.28 and a 52 week high of $546.88. The company's 50 day moving average price is $450.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $468.38. The stock has a market cap of $78.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.22 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The firm's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.53%.

Moody's Profile

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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