Baskin Financial Services Inc. Sells 1,275 Shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Baskin Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 106,530 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,275 shares during the period. Moody's accounts for about 4.0% of Baskin Financial Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Baskin Financial Services Inc. owned about 0.06% of Moody's worth $49,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,696,081 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,956,684,000 after buying an additional 63,820 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,799 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,738,645,000 after purchasing an additional 68,627 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Moody's during the fourth quarter worth $988,750,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,729 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $841,050,000 after purchasing an additional 302,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,590,679 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $752,980,000 after purchasing an additional 220,681 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,690 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Moody's from $523.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $572.00 to $573.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $521.40.

Moody's Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of MCO stock traded up $7.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $504.42. 485,177 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 765,939. The stock has a market cap of $90.74 billion, a PE ratio of 43.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $477.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $472.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.37% and a net margin of 29.15%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.47%.

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.