2,027 Shares in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Purchased by Legacy Capital Group California Inc.

Key Points

• Legacy Capital Group California Inc. invested approximately $944,000 in Moody's Corporation during the first quarter, acquiring 2,027 shares of the business services provider's stock.
• Institutional investors now own 92.11% of Moody's stock, with several firms significantly increasing their positions in the company during the same period.
• Moody's announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 to be paid on September 5th, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.7%.

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,027 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $944,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Moody's by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody's by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 5.8% during the first quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 477 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total transaction of $455,891.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at $1,091,699.52. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,593 shares of company stock valued at $4,382,984. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $538.80.

Moody's Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $515.63. The stock had a trading volume of 375,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 867,140. Moody's Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $92.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $495.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $478.40.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.28 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.95%.

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.