Sarasin & Partners LLP Decreases Stock Holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Sarasin & Partners LLP lessened its stake in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 20.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 445,990 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 116,419 shares during the quarter. Moody's comprises 2.2% of Sarasin & Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned about 0.25% of Moody's worth $207,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Moody's by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,690,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Moody's by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Moody's by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in shares of Moody's by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,471 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,445,682. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody's Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of MCO traded down $9.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $471.57. The company had a trading volume of 471,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 762,283. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $461.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $473.48. The firm has a market cap 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 (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 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $519.40.

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.