Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lowered its stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,258 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,077 shares during the quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's holdings in Moody's were worth $32,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of Moody's stock opened at $471.57 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.39. Moody's Co. has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm's 50 day moving average is $461.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $473.10.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. Research analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $489.00 to $523.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $519.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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