Walter Public Investments Inc. Has $23.38 Million Stock Holdings in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Walter Public Investments Inc. has increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 5.4%, making it the firm’s 9th largest position, worth approximately $23.4 million.
• Moody's recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.8%.
• Several investment analysts have raised their price targets for Moody's stock, with consensus estimates increasing to an average price of $540.71 and a rating of "Moderate Buy."

Walter Public Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 5.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,610 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,391 shares during the quarter. Moody's accounts for about 4.0% of Walter Public Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Walter Public Investments Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $23,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCO. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,715,000 after purchasing an additional 10,350 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $126,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $4,434,000. Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $471,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 92.9% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 3,268 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total value of $455,891.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 2,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,091,699.52. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total value of $741,365.31. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares in the company, valued at $705,238.38. This trade represents a 51.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,423 shares of company stock worth $4,812,135. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Moody's from $595.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $540.71.

Moody's Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE MCO traded down $13.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $474.70. 534,904 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 782,738. 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 $84.97 billion, a PE ratio of 40.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.42. The company's fifty day moving average is $508.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $480.20. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.95%.

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.