Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Acquired by Liontrust Investment Partners LLP

Key Points

• Liontrust Investment Partners LLP increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 29.2%, now holding 31,024 shares valued at $14.4 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Moody's reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.56, exceeding estimates, with revenue reaching $1.90 billion, a 4.5% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, reflecting a 0.7% yield, with a payout ratio of 31.95%.

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 29.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,024 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,004 shares during the quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP's holdings in Moody's were worth $14,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Moody's by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 805,267 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $374,959,000 after buying an additional 9,148 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in Moody's by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 626.8% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 53,185 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $24,768,000 after purchasing an additional 45,867 shares during the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 88.3% during the 1st quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 11,085 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,162,000 after acquiring an additional 5,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 5,715 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,661,000 after buying an additional 1,144 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total transaction of $455,891.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.45, for a total value of $216,401.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,130,706.10. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,599,385 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Moody's stock traded up $2.0780 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $511.2980. The company's stock had a trading volume of 560,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 789,282. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $499.71 and a 200-day moving average of $479.43. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market cap of $91.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.28 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MCO. Mizuho upped their price objective on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $538.80.

Moody's Company 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.