Gotham Asset Management LLC Has $16.63 Million Holdings in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 38.5% in the first quarter, owning 35,714 shares valued at approximately $16.6 million at that time.
• Moody's reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS), exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.39, and experienced a 4.5% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• A number of investment firms, including Hennion & Walsh and HSBC Holdings PLC, also grew their holdings in Moody's during the first quarter, with institutional investors owning 92.11% of the company's stock.

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 38.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 35,714 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,930 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $16,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,815,629 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,899,490,000 after purchasing an additional 119,548 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,590,679 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $752,980,000 after purchasing an additional 220,681 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 9.7% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,586,672 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $738,897,000 after purchasing an additional 140,128 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 21.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,530,582 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $712,777,000 after purchasing an additional 265,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley Forge Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley Forge Capital Management LP now owns 1,314,144 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $622,076,000 after purchasing an additional 25,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $507.69. 449,726 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 774,834. The business's fifty day moving average is $507.96 and its 200 day moving average is $479.28. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Moody's had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.28 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total transaction of $455,891.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,091,699.52. This represents a 29.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,386 shares in the company, valued at $705,238.38. This represents a 51.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock valued at $4,599,385. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $540.57.

Moody's 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.