Crown Oak Advisors LLC Grows Position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Crown Oak Advisors LLC raised its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,468 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. Moody's makes up 3.9% of Crown Oak Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Crown Oak Advisors LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $7,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Moody's from $489.00 to $523.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $519.40.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded down $0.59 during trading on Thursday, hitting $470.64. The company had a trading volume of 528,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 761,487. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $464.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $472.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.57. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.47%.

Moody's Company 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.