Roundview Capital LLC Grows Stock Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Roundview Capital LLC increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 7.3%, owning 11,684 shares worth approximately $5.86 million after acquiring an additional 795 shares in the second quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc., also raised their positions in Moody's, reflecting strong institutional interest with over 92% of the stock owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• Moody's reported strong financial performance with an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.56 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, and set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS.

Roundview Capital LLC increased its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,684 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the quarter. Roundview Capital LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $5,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $6,899,490,000 after purchasing an additional 119,548 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody's by 10.3% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,311,020 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,159,185,000 after purchasing an additional 215,551 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Moody's by 3.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,651,495 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $769,085,000 after purchasing an additional 60,816 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position 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 valued at $738,897,000 after purchasing an additional 140,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $712,777,000 after purchasing an additional 265,389 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the business'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 approximately $705,238.38. The trade was a 51.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the business'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 directly owned 2,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,091,699.52. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,423 shares of company stock worth $4,812,135. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

Moody's stock opened at $483.71 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $503.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $482.19. Moody's Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $86.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.10, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.41.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.28 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. On average, research analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. Mizuho lifted 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. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Moody's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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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