Vancity Investment Management Ltd Invests $22.09 Million in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Vancity Investment Management Ltd has invested approximately $22.09 million in Moody's Corporation, acquiring nearly 47,441 shares, which now represents about 3.0% of its portfolio.
• Other institutional investors have also significantly increased their stakes in Moody's, with GAMMA Investing LLC growing its holdings by 55,808.8% and now owning 802,850 shares worth $373.87 million.
• Moody's reported a Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $3.56, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a revenue of $1.90 billion, marking a 4.5% increase compared to the same period last year.

Vancity Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 47,441 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $22,093,000. Moody's comprises approximately 3.0% of Vancity Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 55,808.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 802,850 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $373,879,000 after acquiring an additional 801,414 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the 1st quarter worth approximately $328,595,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,530,582 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $712,777,000 after acquiring an additional 265,389 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 142.4% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 71,040 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,083,000 after acquiring an additional 238,569 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,590,679 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $752,980,000 after acquiring an additional 220,681 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total transaction of $1,893,114.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,195,619.90. The trade was a 31.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.45, for a total transaction of $216,401.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,008 shares of company stock valued at $4,599,385 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of Moody's stock opened at $499.00 on Monday. Moody's Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93. The stock's fifty day moving average is $507.85 and its 200 day moving average is $479.22. The stock has a market cap of $89.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 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 (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during 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%.Moody's's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.28 EPS. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $540.57.

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.

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