Pelham Capital Ltd. Has $13.32 Million Stock Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Pelham Capital Ltd. increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 15.3% during the second quarter, holding approximately $13.32 million worth of shares, making Moody's its 7th largest investment.
• Moody's reported $3.56 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 4.5% year-over-year.
• Research analysts have responded positively, with several raising their target prices for Moody's, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $541.21.

Pelham Capital Ltd. boosted its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 15.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,563 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,516 shares during the quarter. Moody's makes up approximately 6.2% of Pelham Capital Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Pelham Capital Ltd.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $13,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Moody's by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 3.1% in the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 762 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Moody's by 42.9% in the 2nd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 80 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 477 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In related news, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total transaction of $455,891.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,091,699.52. This represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total value of $1,083,701.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,841,138.44. This trade represents a 27.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,423 shares of company stock valued at $4,812,135. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moody's Price Performance

Moody's stock opened at $479.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $85.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $504.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $481.28.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.28 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is 31.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Moody's from $595.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $541.21.

About Moody's

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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