Makena Capital Management LLC Acquires 21,711 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Makena Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 83.7%, becoming one of its largest institutional shareholders with holdings valued at approximately $22.2 million.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Goldman Sachs, significantly boosted their positions in Moody's, indicating strong interest in the stock, which is now held by 92.11% of institutional investors.
• Moody's reported earnings of $3.56 EPS, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, reflecting a consistent return to shareholders.

Makena Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 83.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,665 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,711 shares during the quarter. Moody's makes up 2.3% of Makena Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Makena Capital Management LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $22,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Moody's by 5,050.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the first quarter valued at about $49,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 132.6% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motco boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 581.3% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 109 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Mizuho upped their price target on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. 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 report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $538.80.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total transaction of $741,365.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares in the company, valued at $705,238.38. This trade represents a 51.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $216,401.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,130,706.10. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,008 shares of company stock valued at $4,599,385. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody's Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE MCO traded up $2.9740 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $514.9740. 471,117 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 790,223. 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 50-day simple moving average of $500.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $479.65. The firm has a market cap of $92.18 billion, a PE ratio of 43.75, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody's had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.28 earnings per share. The business'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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend 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%.

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.