Neuberger Berman Group LLC Lowers Holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its stake in Moody's Corporation by 3.1%, owning approximately 0.40% of the company, valued at $336.47 million.
• Institutional investors hold a significant 92.11% of Moody's Corporation's stock, with notable increases in holdings from firms like GAMMA Investing LLC and Goldman Sachs.
• Moody's announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, with a payout ratio of 31.95%, set to be distributed on September 5th.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 722,525 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 23,467 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned approximately 0.40% of Moody's worth $336,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Moody's by 5.5% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,048 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,214,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its position in Moody's by 77,500.0% during the first quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 2,328 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Moody's by 289.8% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,282 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 7.9% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 69,849 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,528,000 after acquiring an additional 5,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody's by 10.3% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,259 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,381,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $538.80.

Moody's Stock Down 0.9%

MCO traded down $4.75 on Friday, hitting $516.57. 410,186 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 844,752. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $498.69 and its 200-day moving average is $479.41. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The company has a market cap of $92.47 billion, a PE ratio of 43.89, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.28 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody's news, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,195,619.90. This trade represents a 31.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total transaction of $1,083,701.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,841,138.44. The trade was a 27.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,593 shares of company stock valued at $4,382,984 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.