USS Investment Management Ltd Has $12.25 Million Stake in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd has reduced its stake in Moody's Corporation by 15.2%, now holding approximately $12.25 million worth of shares.
• Moody's reported a strong earnings performance of $3.56 per share, exceeding estimates and indicating a year-over-year revenue growth of 4.5%.
• Analysts have raised target prices for Moody's stock, with a consensus target of $540.57, reflecting overall positive sentiment towards the company's stock.

USS Investment Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,285 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,700 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Moody's were worth $12,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in Moody's by 1,000.0% during the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Moody's during the first quarter worth $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Moody's by 5,050.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the first quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 132.6% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on 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 raised their target price on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $540.57.

Moody's Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE MCO opened at $499.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $507.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $479.22. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The stock has a market cap of $89.32 billion, a PE ratio of 42.40, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.42.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.28 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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 EPS 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 (DPR) is currently 31.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were 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 $32,130,706.10. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total transaction of $455,891.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,091,699.52. This represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock valued at $4,599,385. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moody's Company 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.

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