Horizon Financial Services LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 77,500.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,328 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares during the period. Horizon Financial Services LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $1,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in Moody's by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,715,000 after buying an additional 10,350 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter worth $223,000. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Moody's by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,472,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Moody's by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,720 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter worth about $281,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded down $4.91 on Wednesday, reaching $497.57. 694,440 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 763,333. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.38. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $474.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $472.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.37% and a net margin of 29.15%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Moody's from $523.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One 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 MarketBeat, Moody's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $521.33.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This 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 hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.