Central Bank & Trust Co. Sells 2,445 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Central Bank & Trust Co. lessened its stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 16.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,276 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,445 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $5,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 13.5% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,645 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,697,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Moody's by 5.8% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,427 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 293.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 8,864 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,128,000 after purchasing an additional 6,611 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group increased its position in shares of Moody's by 933.1% during the 1st quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 4,153 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 3,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLIO Financial Planning lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. OLIO Financial Planning now owns 732 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of Moody's stock traded down $3.23 during trading on Monday, reaching $485.72. 485,067 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 763,077. Moody's Co. has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $455.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $473.58. The company has a market capitalization of $87.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.39.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Sell-side analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MCO. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Moody's from $489.00 to $523.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $519.40.

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.