Moody's Corporation $MCO Stock: Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Grows Holdings

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased sharply: Bank Julius Baer & Co. Zurich raised its Moody’s position by 27,622.8% to 187,129 shares, while institutional investors collectively own 92.11% of the company.
• Analysts remain generally positive: Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from 20 analysts, with an average price target of $552.63.
• Recent results fell short of estimates: Moody’s reported quarterly EPS of $4.14 versus the $4.25 consensus and revenue of $2.02 billion versus expectations of $2.08 billion, though revenue still grew 0.8% year over year. The company also declared a $1.03 quarterly dividend, yielding approximately 0.8%.

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 27,622.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 187,129 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 186,454 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned about 0.11% of Moody's worth $85,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Moody's in the 2nd quarter worth about $914,721,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Moody's by 72.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,081,807 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $471,963,000 after acquiring an additional 454,684 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 5,102.9% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 286,213 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $124,860,000 after buying an additional 280,712 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 21,256.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 255,000 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $115,803,000 after buying an additional 253,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Moody's by 275.2% during the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 319,889 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $144,884,000 after purchasing an additional 234,640 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody's news, CEO Michael West sold 9,946 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.00, for a total value of $4,853,648.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 8,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,176,792. The trade was a 53.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $419,965.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,370,620. The trade was a 1.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MCO. Evercore boosted their price target on Moody's from $570.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Moody's from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Moody's from $570.00 to $555.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $552.63.

Moody's Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $493.80 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $85.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $477.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $467.63. Moody's Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($0.11). Moody's had a net margin of 35.26% and a return on equity of 84.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.92 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 16.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. Moody's's payout ratio is 25.11%.

Moody's Company Profile

Moody's Corporation NYSE: MCO is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, analytics and risk-management solutions. Through Moody's Investors Service, the company assigns credit ratings and publishes research on corporate, government and structured-finance debt issuers, helping investors and other market participants evaluate credit risk.

Through Moody's Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, data, software and advisory services. Its offerings support credit analysis, lending, portfolio management, enterprise risk management, compliance and related functions across financial institutions, corporations, governments and other organizations.

Moody's traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody established the company that introduced published credit ratings for bonds.

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