Citigroup Inc. Acquires 85,412 Shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. significantly increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 99.6%, owning approximately 171,205 shares valued at nearly $79.7 million after acquiring an additional 85,412 shares in the first quarter.
• Insider sales included Michael L. West selling 3,704 shares for ~$1.9 million, and Richard G. Steele selling 1,457 shares for ~$741,000, both representing significant decreases in their ownership.
• Moody's reported better-than-expected earnings of $3.56 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 to be paid on September 5th.

Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 99.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 171,205 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 85,412 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Moody's worth $79,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in Moody's by 1,000.0% during the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Moody's by 5,050.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Moody's during the first quarter valued at about $49,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Moody's by 132.6% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motco boosted its stake in Moody's by 581.3% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 109 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of MCO traded up $4.68 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $516.34. 588,661 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 865,312. Moody's Corporation has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $497.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $478.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $92.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.28 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total value of $741,365.31. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $705,238.38. This trade represents a 51.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total value of $1,083,701.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,558 shares in the company, valued at $2,841,138.44. The trade was a 27.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,593 shares of company stock worth $4,382,984 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $538.80.

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.