CenterBook Partners LP Purchases 12,705 Shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Key Points

• CenterBook Partners LP increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 253.3%, purchasing an additional 12,705 shares, bringing its total holdings to 17,721 shares valued at approximately $8.25 million.
• Moody's reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.56, exceeding analyst expectations of $3.39, with a revenue of $1.90 billion, compared to estimates of $1.82 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, translating to an annual yield of 0.7%, with an ex-dividend date of August 15th.

CenterBook Partners LP boosted its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 253.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,721 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,705 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP's holdings in Moody's were worth $8,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MCO. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody's by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Carson Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody's by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Moody's by 5.8% during the first quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 477 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

Moody's stock opened at $517.79 on Thursday. Moody's Corporation has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The firm has a market cap of $92.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $494.60 and a 200-day moving average of $478.13.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total value of $1,893,114.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,195,619.90. This represents a 31.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total transaction of $208,911.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,153,412.40. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,593 shares of company stock valued at $4,382,984 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on MCO shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Mizuho upped their price target on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $538.80.

About Moody's

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.

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