Jennison Associates LLC Has $730.71 Million Stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Jennison Associates LLC cut its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 28.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,569,087 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 611,890 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.87% of Moody's worth $730,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 1,000.0% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 5,050.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's in the first quarter valued at $49,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth about $83,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Down 0.5%

Moody's stock traded down $2.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $499.82. 1,948,990 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 768,424. The company's 50-day moving average is $486.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $474.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.57. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The firm has a market cap of $89.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.16, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.38.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.15% and a return on equity of 60.37%. On average, analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors 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 presently 32.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MCO. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Moody's from $523.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $519.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total transaction of $208,911.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,886 shares in the company, valued at $31,153,412.40. This represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.