Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Buys 1,007 Shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd significantly increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 179.8% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 1,007 shares to hold a total of 1,567 shares valued at $730,000.
• Several institutional investors have also increased their positions in Moody's, with GAMMA Investing LLC notably growing its holdings by 55,808.8%, now owning 802,850 shares worth approximately $373.9 million.
• Moody's announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, to be paid on September 5th, representing an annualized yield of 0.73% and a payout ratio of 31.95%.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 179.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,567 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,007 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Moody's were worth $730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Moody's by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,715,000 after buying an additional 10,350 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 136,873 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $64,792,000 after purchasing an additional 26,702 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Diametric Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth $267,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,799 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,738,645,000 after purchasing an additional 68,627 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Down 2.8%

MCO traded down $14.43 on Friday, hitting $501.30. 1,115,734 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 774,720. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The company has a market cap of $89.73 billion, a PE ratio of 42.59, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock's fifty day moving average is $491.49 and its 200-day moving average is $476.98.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.28 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $538.80.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total value of $1,083,701.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,841,138.44. This represents a 27.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total value of $741,365.31. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $705,238.38. This represents a 51.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,593 shares of company stock worth $4,382,984. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.