Moody's Corporation $MCO Stock Position Lifted by Marshfield Associates

Key Points

• Marshfield Associates increased its stake in Moody's Corporation (MCO) by 0.5%, owning 513,899 shares valued at approximately $239.32 million, accounting for 5.2% of its investment portfolio.
• Moody's reported a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73% in its latest earnings, surpassing analysts' expectations with earnings of $3.56 per share and revenue of $1.90 billion.
• Moody's has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.7% with a payout ratio of 31.95%.

Marshfield Associates boosted its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 513,899 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,779 shares during the period. Moody's comprises approximately 5.2% of Marshfield Associates' portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Marshfield Associates owned approximately 0.29% of Moody's worth $239,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 5.5% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,048 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,214,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its position in Moody's by 77,500.0% during the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 2,328 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,084,000 after buying an additional 2,325 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Moody's by 11.9% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 527,518 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $244,817,000 after buying an additional 56,273 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Moody's by 289.8% during the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,282 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,528,000 after buying an additional 2,440 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 7.9% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 69,849 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,528,000 after purchasing an additional 5,095 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total value of $455,891.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at $1,091,699.52. The trade was a 29.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total transaction of $741,365.31. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,386 shares in the company, valued at $705,238.38. The trade was a 51.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,599,385. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Down 0.5%

MCO stock traded down $2.59 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $495.91. 551,299 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 538,294. The company has a market capitalization of $88.77 billion, a PE ratio of 42.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $507.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $479.90.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $540.57.

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.