IFP Advisors Inc Boosts Stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 128.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,950 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,221 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in Moody's were worth $1,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 1,000.0% during the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Moody's by 5,050.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total transaction of $208,911.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,153,412.40. This trade represents a 0.67% 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MCO. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock 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 on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $572.00 to $573.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $523.73.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $500.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.00 billion, a PE ratio of 43.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $486.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $474.51. 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93.

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

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.

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