Handelsbanken Fonder AB Lowers Stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,486 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,467 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Moody's were worth $27,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCO. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Moody's by 142.4% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 71,040 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,083,000 after purchasing an additional 238,569 shares in the last quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 2.1% during the first quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 10,578 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,926,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 26.6% during the first quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 846 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 20.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,724 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $803,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Moody's during the first quarter worth $1,413,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $489.00 to $523.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. One 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $519.40.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded down $9.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $471.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 471,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 763,490. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $461.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $473.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.39. Moody's Co. has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. 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.