Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) is Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc.'s 3rd Largest Position

Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,569 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,015 shares during the period. Moody's makes up about 6.8% of Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. owned 0.08% of Moody's worth $70,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $988,750,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 55,808.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 802,850 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $373,879,000 after buying an additional 801,414 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 92,060.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 612,865 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $290,112,000 after buying an additional 612,200 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $534,255,000 after buying an additional 479,599 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $150,376,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price objective for the company. One 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $520.87.

Moody's Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of MCO traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $480.22. The company had a trading volume of 504,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 764,646. Moody's Co. has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The stock has a market cap of $86.39 billion, a PE ratio of 42.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $453.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $473.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Research analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.47%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.