Diversify Wealth Management LLC Invests $3.85 Million in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Diversify Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,601 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,845,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $988,750,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 55,808.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 802,850 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $373,879,000 after purchasing an additional 801,414 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,729 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $841,050,000 after purchasing an additional 302,453 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 142.4% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 71,040 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,083,000 after acquiring an additional 238,569 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 16.1% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 220,681 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MCO. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of 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 lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $523.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $572.00 to $573.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $519.07.

Insider Activity

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

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock traded down $6.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $499.42. The company had a trading volume of 455,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 766,175. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The stock's 50-day moving average is $482.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $473.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.38. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.37% and a net margin of 29.15%. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

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.