Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Allen Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Allen Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Moody's Corporation by 2.7%, now owning approximately 903,702 shares, which constitutes about 4.9% of its overall portfolio.
• Moody's recently reported earnings per share of $3.56, exceeding analyst estimates, with a quarterly revenue of $1.90 billion, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 4.5%.
• The company's stock is actively supported by institutional investors, who own approximately 92.11% of its shares.

Allen Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 903,702 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 25,314 shares during the period. Moody's accounts for approximately 4.9% of Allen Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Allen Investment Management LLC owned about 0.50% of Moody's worth $420,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in shares of Moody's by 1,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 5,050.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Motco raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 581.3% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 109 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of MCO traded up $8.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $518.75. The stock had a trading volume of 446,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 796,917. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $489.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $476.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $93.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 31.95%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total value of $208,911.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,886 shares in the company, valued at $31,153,412.40. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $538.80.

About Moody's

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.