Impax Asset Management Group plc Invests $641,000 in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,377 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $641,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Moody's by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,696,081 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,956,684,000 after buying an additional 63,820 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Moody's by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,799 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,738,645,000 after buying an additional 68,627 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at about $988,750,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Moody's by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,729 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $841,050,000 after buying an additional 302,453 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Moody's by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,590,679 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $752,980,000 after buying an additional 220,681 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $523.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $521.40.

Moody's Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $504.42 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $478.63 and a 200-day moving average of $472.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.38. 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 twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.15% and a return on equity of 60.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's 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.

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