Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

Key Points

• GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 41.5% during the second quarter, now holding shares worth $1.224 million.
• Moody's reported quarterly earnings of $3.56 per share, surpassing estimates, and has set its FY 2025 guidance between 13.500-14.000 EPS.
• The company's stock currently has an average target price of $540.71, with ratings indicating a "Moderate Buy" from analysts.

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 41.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,440 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 716 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $1,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in Moody's by 1,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in Moody's by 42.9% in the second quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 80 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Moody's in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Moody's by 5,050.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Moody's stock opened at $476.32 on Wednesday. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week 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 company has a market cap of $85.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $507.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $480.17.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 during 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%.Moody's's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.28 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 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, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.95%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 2,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,091,699.52. The trade was a 29.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total transaction of $741,365.31. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 9,423 shares of company stock worth $4,812,135 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MCO. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Moody's from $595.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $540.71.

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.

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