Quantum Capital Management LLC NJ Decreases Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Quantum Capital Management LLC NJ reduced its stake in Moody's Corporation by 1.6%, holding 67,260 shares valued at approximately $31.3 million, making it the 15th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Several hedge funds have increased their stakes in Moody's, with Horizon Financial Services LLC boosting its holdings by an astonishing 77,500%, now owning 2,328 shares.
• Moody's announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, with the dividend yield standing at 0.7%, reflecting a payout ratio of 31.95%.

Quantum Capital Management LLC NJ cut its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 67,260 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,099 shares during the quarter. Moody's accounts for 3.2% of Quantum Capital Management LLC NJ's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Quantum Capital Management LLC NJ's holdings in Moody's were worth $31,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 55,808.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 802,850 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $373,879,000 after acquiring an additional 801,414 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the first quarter worth $328,595,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,729 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $841,050,000 after acquiring an additional 302,453 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 265,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 142.4% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 71,040 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,083,000 after acquiring an additional 238,569 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 owned 1,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $705,238.38. This represents a 51.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.45, for a total value of $216,401.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,130,706.10. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock valued at $4,599,385. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Moody's Trading Up 1.2%

MCO stock traded up $6.0230 during trading on Friday, reaching $515.4930. 642,948 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 688,775. The business's 50 day moving average price is $502.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $480.03. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.27 billion, a PE ratio of 43.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.28 earnings per share. The firm'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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's payout ratio is 31.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $538.80.

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.