Groupama Asset Managment Boosts Stake in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 42.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,439 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,515 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,701,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 12.0% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,786 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 12.9% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 127,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $59,575,000 after purchasing an additional 14,655 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 72.6% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 9,455 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,403,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total value of $558,934.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,255,223.90. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 2,569 shares of company stock worth $1,253,848 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $490.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $481.77 and a 200 day moving average of $492.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $87.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.40. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 63.58% and a net margin of 29.92%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $471.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho boosted their price target on Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $528.00 price objective on Moody’s and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $543.07.

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.