Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Shares Acquired by Bluegrass Capital Partners LP

Key Points

• Bluegrass Capital Partners LP increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 81.3%, making it the firm's 6th largest position and representing 11.6% of its portfolio.
• Moody's reported $3.56 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations, and exhibited a revenue growth of 4.5% year-over-year.
• Despite recent insider sales totaling 8,593 shares worth approximately $4.38 million, institutional investors own 92.11% of Moody's stock, indicating strong institutional interest.

Bluegrass Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 81.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the period. Moody's comprises approximately 11.6% of Bluegrass Capital Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Bluegrass Capital Partners LP's holdings in Moody's were worth $13,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Moody's by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,715,000 after purchasing an additional 10,350 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $283,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Moody's by 188.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 5,478 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,593,000 after acquiring an additional 3,582 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Moody's by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 44,050 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $20,868,000 after acquiring an additional 3,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in Moody's by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 7,794 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,689,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Bank of America initiated coverage on Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $538.80.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $1.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $515.63. The stock had a trading volume of 375,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 867,140. Moody's Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $495.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $478.40. The company has a market capitalization of $92.30 billion, a PE ratio of 43.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.95%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total value of $208,911.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,886 shares in the company, valued at $31,153,412.40. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total transaction of $455,891.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at $1,091,699.52. The trade was a 29.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,593 shares of company stock valued at $4,382,984 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.