Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Position Boosted by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 62.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,424 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,135 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $12,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Carson Advisory Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,471 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Advisory LLC lifted 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE MCO traded down $6.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $499.42. The company had a trading volume of 455,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 766,175. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93. The company has a market capitalization 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The firm's 50 day moving average is $483.66 and its 200 day moving average is $473.68.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.94 dividend. 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 0.75%. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,445,682. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. 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 report on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Moody's from $523.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective for the company. One 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 MarketBeat, Moody's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.