Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC Lowers Stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC decreased its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 12.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,522 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 12,893 shares during the period. Moody's makes up 3.5% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.05% of Moody's worth $43,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at about $988,750,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 55,808.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 802,850 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $373,879,000 after buying an additional 801,414 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 buying an additional 302,453 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 142.4% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 71,040 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,083,000 after buying an additional 238,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Moody's by 16.1% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 220,681 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of Moody's stock traded down $6.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $499.42. 455,742 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 766,094. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $483.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $473.63. The company has a market capitalization of $89.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.37% and a net margin of 29.15%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,445,682. The trade was 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. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MCO. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Moody's from $523.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Moody's from $572.00 to $573.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $519.07.

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.