Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is Ycg LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Ycg LLC reduced its holdings in Moody's Corporation by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, resulting in ownership of 179,681 shares, which represents 6.6% of Ycg's portfolio valued at approximately $83.68 million.
• Moody's reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.56, exceeding analysts' estimates of $3.39, with revenues of $1.90 billion, surpassing expectations of $1.82 billion.
• Moody's announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94, yielding 0.7%, with an ex-dividend date set for August 15th, indicating a dividend payout ratio of 31.95%.

YCG LLC lessened its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 179,681 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,438 shares during the quarter. Moody's makes up approximately 6.6% of YCG LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. YCG LLC owned 0.10% of Moody's worth $83,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,690,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 2.1% during the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 5.8% during the first quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 477 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 5.7% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 482 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total transaction of $741,365.31. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $705,238.38. This represents a 51.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total value of $455,891.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares in the company, valued at $1,091,699.52. The trade was a 29.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,593 shares of company stock worth $4,382,984 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE MCO traded down $4.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $516.57. 410,186 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 794,055. The company's 50 day moving average price is $498.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $479.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is 31.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Mizuho raised their target price on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.