Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Shares Bought by Ninety One SA PTY Ltd

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd lifted its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 241.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,762 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,263 shares during the quarter. Moody's makes up 1.6% of Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's holdings in Moody's were worth $8,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Moody's by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,696,081 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,956,684,000 after purchasing an additional 63,820 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 68,627 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth about $988,750,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Moody's by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,729 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $841,050,000 after purchasing an additional 302,453 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 220,681 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded down $3.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $499.33. The stock had a trading volume of 536,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 765,397. The firm has a market cap of $89.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.12, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.38. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $479.88 and a 200-day moving average of $472.94.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.37% and a net margin of 29.15%. Equities research analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Moody's's payout ratio is 32.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MCO. UBS Group upped their price target on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America began coverage on Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho began coverage on Moody's in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 a consensus price target of $519.07.

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.