Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 1,138 Shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,856 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Moody's were worth $9,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smith Group Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 3.6% in the first quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 1,447 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd increased its position in Moody's by 58.7% during the 1st quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 811 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its position in Moody's by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 10,075 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,692,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Moody's during the 1st quarter worth $223,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 35,399 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $16,485,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on MCO shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America started coverage on Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $521.40.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $6.27 on Thursday, hitting $503.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 239,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 762,841. The company has a market capitalization of $90.56 billion, a PE ratio of 43.46, a PEG ratio of 2.88 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $476.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $472.37. Moody's Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.15% and a return on equity of 60.37%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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

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.