Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Grows Stock Holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 9.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,586,672 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 140,128 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.88% of Moody's worth $738,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,715,000 after acquiring an additional 10,350 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Moody's by 94.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Moody's by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 559 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody's by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,128 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,481,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choate Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Moody's by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 1,991 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE MCO traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $500.80. 334,097 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 762,503. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $90.09 billion, a PE ratio of 43.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.38. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $485.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $474.10. Moody's Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.37% and a net margin of 29.15%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Moody's's payout ratio is 32.47%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays dropped their target price 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, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody's has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $519.07.

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.