Voleon Capital Management LP Has $3.32 Million Stock Holdings in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Voleon Capital Management LP reduced its stake in Moody's Corporation by 36.2%, selling 4,040 shares in the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 7,125 shares valued at approximately $3.3 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their stakes, with notable increases from Wolff Wiese Magana LLC and Golden State Wealth Management LLC, indicating significant interest from hedge funds in Moody's stock.
• Moody's posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings, reporting a net margin of 29.18% and revenue growth of 4.5%, along with an annual dividend yield of 0.8% after paying a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share.

Voleon Capital Management LP cut its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 36.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,125 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,040 shares during the period. Voleon Capital Management LP's holdings in Moody's were worth $3,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in Moody's by 1,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Moody's in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Moody's by 5,050.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Moody's in the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Moody's by 132.6% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE MCO traded down $6.38 on Friday, reaching $512.32. The company had a trading volume of 490,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 565,071. The stock's 50 day moving average is $508.68 and its 200-day moving average is $479.72. The stock has a market cap of $91.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.53, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Moody's Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%.The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.28 earnings per share. 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. Equities analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $540.57.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, 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 transaction of $1,083,701.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,841,138.44. This represents a 27.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.45, for a total value of $216,401.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,130,706.10. This represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 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 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.