New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $105.25 Million Stock Position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 226,011 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,910 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.13% of Moody's worth $105,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 1,000.0% during the first 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 period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Moody's by 5,050.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,445,682. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody's Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of MCO traded up $4.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $503.74. 547,122 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 791,768. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56. Moody's Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The company has a market cap of $90.62 billion, a PE ratio of 43.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $483.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $473.58.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody's has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.