IFM Investors Pty Ltd Purchases 2,919 Shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,090 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,919 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Moody's were worth $15,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in Moody's by 1,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Moody's by 5,050.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Moody's in the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Moody's by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MCO. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Barclays dropped 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 note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $520.73.

Moody's Price Performance

NYSE:MCO traded down $3.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $501.09. 235,175 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 764,781. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. 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 $90.15 billion, a PE ratio of 43.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.38. The business's 50-day moving average price is $478.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $472.69.

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 29.15% and a return on equity of 60.37%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. On average, analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid 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 (DPR) is 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.