Voya Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 2.4%, holding 471,212 shares worth approximately $219 million, according to a recent SEC filing.
• Moody's reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.56, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside a revenue of $1.90 billion, marking a 4.5% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 31.95% as of the last quarter.

Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 471,212 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,931 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Moody's worth $219,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in Moody's by 1,000.0% during the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Moody's in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Moody's by 132.6% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective 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. Barclays raised their price target on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Moody's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $540.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,091,699.52. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total value of $1,893,114.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,195,619.90. This represents a 31.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,008 shares of company stock valued at $4,599,385 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Moody's Price Performance

Moody's stock traded down $3.61 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $508.70. 585,239 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 569,074. The stock has a market cap of $91.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.22, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.42. The stock's fifty day moving average is $508.68 and its 200-day moving average is $479.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.28 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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