KBC Group NV Has $43.53 Million Holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

KBC Group NV lifted its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,482 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,684 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.05% of Moody's worth $43,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,696,081 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,956,684,000 after purchasing an additional 63,820 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,799 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,738,645,000 after buying an additional 68,627 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at about $988,750,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,729 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $841,050,000 after acquiring an additional 302,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position 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. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $489.00 to $523.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $519.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,092,537.92. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Moody's Stock Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $488.46 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $471.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $471.89. 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 Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

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.

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