SummitTX Capital L.P. Purchases 13,360 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• SummitTX Capital increased its Moody’s position by 980.9% in the first quarter, buying 13,360 additional shares for a total holding of 14,722 shares valued at approximately $6.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.11% of the company.
• Moody’s reported quarterly EPS of $4.68, beating estimates of $4.26, while revenue rose 15.1% year over year to $2.19 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $553.61.
• Moody’s shares opened at $486.05, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03, equivalent to an annualized $4.12 payout and a 0.8% yield.

SummitTX Capital L.P. increased its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 980.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,722 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,360 shares during the period. SummitTX Capital L.P.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $6,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Moody's by 5,102.9% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 286,213 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $124,860,000 after acquiring an additional 280,712 shares in the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the 1st quarter valued at $7,373,000. Family Manage LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the 1st quarter valued at $239,000. Cypress Capital Group lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 52.0% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 9,068 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,956,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Moody's news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $900,534.95. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Moody's from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Moody's from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $512.00 price target on Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Moody's from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $553.61.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of Moody's stock opened at $486.05 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $465.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $464.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.34. Moody's Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. Moody's's revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.56 EPS. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 16.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 26.13%.

Moody's Company Profile

Moody's Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody's is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody's operates primarily through two complementary businesses.

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