Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Stock Position Lifted by HWG Holdings LP

HWG Holdings LP lifted its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 104.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,270 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,361 shares during the period. Moody's comprises 4.2% of HWG Holdings LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. HWG Holdings LP's holdings in Moody's were worth $9,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Moody's in the fourth quarter worth $988,750,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 55,808.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 802,850 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $373,879,000 after acquiring an additional 801,414 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 92,060.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 612,865 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $290,112,000 after acquiring an additional 612,200 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 73.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $534,255,000 after acquiring an additional 479,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter worth $150,376,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,445,682. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO traded up $6.28 on Monday, hitting $476.28. The stock had a trading volume of 693,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 760,263. The stock has a market cap of $85.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.39. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $466.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $472.12. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.37% and a net margin of 29.15%. As a group, research analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Moody's's payout ratio is 32.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Moody's from $489.00 to $523.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays cut their target price on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $519.40.

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.