Edgestream Partners L.P. Reduces Stock Holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Edgestream Partners L.P. trimmed its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 39.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,742 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,671 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $2,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,048 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,214,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 77,500.0% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 2,328 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 289.8% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,282 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 69,849 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,528,000 after purchasing an additional 5,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,259 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,381,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total transaction of $208,911.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,886 shares in the company, valued at $31,153,412.40. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $2.64 on Thursday, reaching $502.87. The company had a trading volume of 880,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 764,016. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $485.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $474.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.47 billion, a PE ratio of 43.43, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. Bank of America started coverage on Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. 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, Moody's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $519.07.

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.