Banco Santander S.A. Has $11.96 Million Stock Position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 33.0%, now owning 25,672 shares valued at nearly $12 million.
• Moody's Corporation recently reported $3.56 earnings per share, exceeding estimates, and experienced a 4.5% revenue growth year-over-year.
• The firm's board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.8% for shareholders.

Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 33.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,672 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,364 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $11,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Moody's by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,048 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,214,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its position in Moody's by 77,500.0% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 2,328 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Moody's by 289.8% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,282 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Moody's by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 69,849 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,528,000 after purchasing an additional 5,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Moody's by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,259 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,381,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of Moody's stock traded down $14.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $501.30. 1,115,734 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 830,507. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $89.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.59, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.40. Moody's Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $492.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $477.27.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%. Moody's's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.28 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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 0.8%. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 31.95%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total value of $455,891.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,091,699.52. The trade was a 29.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total value of $741,365.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $705,238.38. The trade was a 51.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,593 shares of company stock worth $4,382,984. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $538.80.

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.