Ballentine Partners LLC Has $6.06 Million Stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,003 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $6,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MCO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at $988,750,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 55,808.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Moody's by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,729 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $841,050,000 after acquiring an additional 302,453 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 142.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 16.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Price Performance

Moody's stock opened at $499.42 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $483.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $473.68. The stock has a market cap of $89.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.38. Moody's Corporation has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.37% and a net margin of 29.15%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.47%.

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 Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Moody's from $572.00 to $573.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Moody's from $523.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $519.07.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.