Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Acquires 32,803 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Aware Super initiated a position in Moody’s, buying 32,803 shares worth approximately $14.9 million in the third quarter; institutional investors collectively own 92.11% of the stock.
• Moody’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, reporting EPS of $4.14 versus $4.25 forecast and revenue of $2.02 billion versus $2.08 billion expected, though revenue rose 0.8% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $552.63. Moody’s also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, equivalent to a 0.8% yield.

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 32,803 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,897,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management acquired a new position in Moody's during the third quarter worth $225,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in shares of Moody's by 27,622.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 187,129 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $85,014,000 after purchasing an additional 186,454 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $20,507,000. Profund Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 10.2% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. increased its holdings in Moody's by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 7,623 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,462,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, CEO Michael L. West sold 185 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.88, for a total transaction of $93,772.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 8,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,244,613.12. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason D. Phillips sold 195 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $509.23, for a total transaction of $99,299.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,481.62. This represents a 9.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,249 shares of company stock valued at $5,466,686. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $490.00 to $511.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $505.00 price target (up from $490.00) on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Moody's from $610.00 to $575.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Evercore raised their price objective on Moody's from $570.00 to $588.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Moody's from $557.00 to $593.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $552.63.

Moody's Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $503.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $477.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $467.33. The stock has a market cap of $86.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.14, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. Moody's Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 84.76% and a net margin of 35.26%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.92 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 16.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.11%.

About Moody's

Moody's Corporation NYSE: MCO is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, analytics and risk-management solutions. Through Moody's Investors Service, the company assigns credit ratings and publishes research on corporate, government and structured-finance debt issuers, helping investors and other market participants evaluate credit risk.

Through Moody's Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, data, software and advisory services. Its offerings support credit analysis, lending, portfolio management, enterprise risk management, compliance and related functions across financial institutions, corporations, governments and other organizations.

Moody's traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody established the company that introduced published credit ratings for bonds.

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