Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by LGT Group Foundation

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation reduced its stake in Moody's Corporation by 3.8%, selling 752 shares and ending up with 18,846 shares valued at $8,776,000.
• A number of large investors reported significant changes in their stakes in Moody's, including Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increasing holdings by 1,000% and Golden State Wealth Management LLC by 5,050% during the same quarter.
• Moody's has a market capitalization of $91.65 billion, with analysts expecting earnings per share of 13.95 for the current year after reporting a net margin of 29.18% and revenue growth of 4.5% year-over-year.

LGT Group Foundation cut its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,846 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 752 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation's holdings in Moody's were worth $8,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 1,000.0% during the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 5,050.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 132.6% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motco grew its holdings in Moody's by 581.3% in the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 109 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

MCO stock traded down $4.75 on Friday, hitting $516.57. The company had a trading volume of 410,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 844,752. Moody's Corporation has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month 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's 50-day simple moving average is $499.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $479.57. The stock has a market cap of $92.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody's had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.28 EPS. Moody's's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $538.80.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total value of $1,083,701.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,841,138.44. This represents a 27.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total transaction of $741,365.31. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares in the company, valued at $705,238.38. The trade was a 51.25% 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 valued at $4,382,984. Company 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.