Norris Perne & French LLP MI Has $26.57 Million Holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Norris Perne & French LLP MI grew its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,050 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,206 shares during the quarter. Moody's comprises about 2.0% of Norris Perne & French LLP MI's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Norris Perne & French LLP MI's holdings in Moody's were worth $26,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in Moody's by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,715,000 after buying an additional 10,350 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Moody's by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,551 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Moody's by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,001 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in Moody's by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 503 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,019 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Down 0.1%

Moody's stock opened at $470.64 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The company has a market cap of $84.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $464.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $472.90. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 29.15% and a return on equity of 60.37%. Analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Moody's's payout ratio is 32.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective 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. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $489.00 to $523.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $519.40.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total value of $192,178.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,092,537.92. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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