Machina Capital S.A.S. Has $2.33 Million Stock Holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 215.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,004 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,416 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $2,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Moody's by 1.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at about $988,750,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 20.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 16.1% during the 4th 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 valued at $752,980,000 after purchasing an additional 220,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,586,672 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $738,897,000 after acquiring an additional 140,128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Moody's stock traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $512.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 688,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 753,171. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $92.22 billion, a PE ratio of 43.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $489.03 and a 200 day moving average of $475.69.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The business's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.28 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their target price on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. 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 research note on Thursday. Bank of America began coverage on Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. One equities 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $538.80.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total value of $208,911.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,153,412.40. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.