Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Shares Acquired by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 316,349 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,515 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.18% of Moody's worth $147,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,696,081 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,956,684,000 after buying an additional 63,820 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,799 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,738,645,000 after acquiring an additional 68,627 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $988,750,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Moody's by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,729 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $841,050,000 after acquiring an additional 302,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Moody's by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,590,679 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $752,980,000 after purchasing an additional 220,681 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

NYSE MCO traded up $1.06 on Thursday, hitting $482.71. 832,308 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 761,553. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.84 billion, a PE ratio of 41.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.39. Moody's Corporation has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $469.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $472.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The company 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total value of $192,178.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MCO. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Moody's from $489.00 to $523.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. One investment 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $519.40.

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.