iA Global Asset Management Inc. Acquires 784 Shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 9.0%, now owning 9,497 shares valued at approximately $4.42 million.
• Moody's reported earnings per share (EPS) of $3.56 for its last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $3.39, and had revenue of $1.90 billion, also surpassing expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of approximately 31.95%.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 9.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,497 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $4,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the first quarter worth $841,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Moody's by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 257 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its position in Moody's by 94.6% in the 1st quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,585 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,670,000 after buying an additional 1,743 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moody's during the 1st quarter valued at about $110,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 12,522 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,777,000 after acquiring an additional 828 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 MCO traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $515.63. 375,081 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 867,140. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a market cap of $92.30 billion, a PE ratio of 43.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 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 moving average of $495.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $478.40.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total transaction of $1,893,114.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,195,619.90. The trade was a 31.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total value of $455,891.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,091,699.52. The trade was a 29.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,593 shares of company stock valued at $4,382,984 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MCO. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $538.80.

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.