Moody’s Corporation $MCO is GFI Investment Counsel Ltd.’s 3rd Largest Position

GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. lessened its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 160,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 568 shares during the quarter. Moody’s makes up about 8.7% of GFI Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. GFI Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $74,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Moody’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 132.6% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motco increased its stake in Moody’s by 581.3% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $514.9740 on Thursday. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $500.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $479.90. The company has a market cap of $92.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.28 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MCO. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Moody’s from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Moody’s from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $538.80.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

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 directly owned 61,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,130,706.10. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of Moody’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. The trade was a 29.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,599,385 in the last 90 days. 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.