Banque Pictet & Cie SA Has $54.36 Million Stock Holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Moody's by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,715,000 after purchasing an additional 10,350 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Moody's by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,487 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Moody's by 94.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $283,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 62,690 shares in the company, valued at $27,445,682. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE MCO traded down $6.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $499.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 455,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 765,661. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $482.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $473.55. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The stock has a market cap of $89.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.94 dividend. 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 currently 32.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Moody's from $523.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $572.00 to $573.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $519.07.

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.