Cetera Investment Advisers Has $13.24 Million Stock Position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 27.2% in Q1, owning a total of 28,425 shares valued at approximately $13.2 million.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Moody's, with JPMorgan Chase boosting it from $495 to $565, indicating strong market confidence with a current average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Moody's announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, representing a 0.74% yield, with a payout ratio of 31.95%.

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 27.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,425 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,081 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Moody's were worth $13,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCO. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Moody's by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,799 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,738,645,000 after buying an additional 68,627 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,729 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $841,050,000 after buying an additional 302,453 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Moody's by 16.1% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 220,681 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Moody's by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,586,672 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $738,897,000 after purchasing an additional 140,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley Forge Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Moody's by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley Forge Capital Management LP now owns 1,314,144 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $622,076,000 after acquiring an additional 25,700 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $538.80.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $512.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,155,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 712,860. The company has a market capitalization of $91.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $489.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $476.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 31.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Moody's news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total value of $741,365.31. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $705,238.38. This represents a 51.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total transaction of $455,891.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at $1,091,699.52. This represents a 29.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 6,473 shares of company stock worth $3,299,282. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.