Opes Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Opes Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,414 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $659,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth about $988,750,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 55,808.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 802,850 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $373,879,000 after purchasing an additional 801,414 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 142.4% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 71,040 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,083,000 after purchasing an additional 238,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $512.62. 688,529 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 753,171. Moody's Corporation has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.22 billion, a PE ratio of 43.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.75. The business's 50 day moving average price is $488.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $475.34.

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

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on MCO shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $538.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total transaction of $208,911.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 61,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,153,412.40. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.