Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Shares Bought by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its holdings in Moody's Corporation by 5.1% during the first quarter, owning 77,390 shares valued at approximately $36 million.
• A number of institutional investors have also boosted their stakes in Moody's, including R Squared Ltd, which increased its position by 205.4%.
• Moody's recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, with an expected annualized dividend of $3.76 and a yield of 0.8%.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 77,390 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,772 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Moody's were worth $36,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,729 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $841,050,000 after purchasing an additional 302,453 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 16.1% during the fourth 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 worth $752,980,000 after purchasing an additional 220,681 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 9.7% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,586,672 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $738,897,000 after purchasing an additional 140,128 shares during the period. Valley Forge Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley Forge Capital Management LP now owns 1,314,144 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $622,076,000 after purchasing an additional 25,700 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 0.3% during the first quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 1,086,565 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $506,002,000 after purchasing an additional 3,475 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $208,911.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,153,412.40. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,593 shares of company stock worth $4,382,984. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MCO. Mizuho lifted their target price on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $538.80.

Moody's Trading Up 3.8%

NYSE:MCO traded up $19.19 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $520.47. The company had a trading volume of 886,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 830,507. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $492.11 and a 200 day moving average of $477.27. The company has a market cap of $93.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.40. Moody's Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

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.