Moody's Corporation $MCO Shares Acquired by GC Wealth Management RIA LLC

Key Points

• GC Wealth Management RIA LLC increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 142.2% during the second quarter, now owning shares valued at approximately $1,097,000.
• The company's stock has a current market capitalization of $86.02 billion and reported quarterly earnings of $3.56 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Moody's declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94, representing a 0.8% yield, with a payout ratio of 31.95%.

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC boosted its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 142.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,187 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares during the period. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $1,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Generate Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the second quarter valued at $4,550,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Moody's by 1.9% in the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,352 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,681,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group lifted its holdings in Moody's by 84.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 7,645 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,835,000 after acquiring an additional 3,492 shares during the last quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the 2nd quarter valued at about $206,000. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 10,457 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of MCO opened at $480.58 on Tuesday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $505.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $481.33. Moody's Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.42.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.28 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $540.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $512.65, for a total transaction of $212,749.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,451,077.50. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were 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 directly owned 1,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,238.38. The trade was 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 valued at $4,812,135. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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