Banque Pictet & Cie SA Lowers Stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA reduced its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 116,733 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,284 shares during the quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned 0.06% of Moody's worth $54,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth $988,750,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Moody's by 55,808.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 802,850 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $373,879,000 after purchasing an additional 801,414 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Moody's by 20.5% during 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 during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Moody's by 142.4% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 71,040 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,083,000 after purchasing an additional 238,569 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Moody's by 16.1% during 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 period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Performance

MCO stock traded up $3.68 during trading on Thursday, hitting $505.90. 617,283 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 766,901. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $482.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $473.55. The company has a market cap of $91.01 billion, a PE ratio of 43.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. Moody's Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody's had a net margin of 29.15% and a return on equity of 60.37%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $572.00 to $573.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $519.07.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,445,682. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

About Moody's

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.