Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Raises Stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 70.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 447,444 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 184,297 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.25% of Moody's worth $208,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in Moody's by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,715,000 after buying an additional 10,350 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Moody's by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,487 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,177,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Moody's by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $283,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 54 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded down $6.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $499.42. The company had a trading volume of 441,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 793,543. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $482.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $473.55. The company has a market capitalization of $89.85 billion, a PE ratio of 43.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. 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 one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is 32.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $523.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Moody's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $519.07.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody'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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,445,682. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.