Pelham Capital Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Pelham Capital Ltd. boosted its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 36.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,047 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,173 shares during the quarter. Moody's makes up 5.6% of Pelham Capital Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Pelham Capital Ltd.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $10,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased 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 worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Moody's during the first quarter worth about $49,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Moody's by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,445,682. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

Moody's stock traded up $3.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $505.90. 617,283 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 766,901. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $481.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $473.33. 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 $91.01 billion, a PE ratio of 43.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. Moody's Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.37% and a net margin of 29.15%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Moody's from $523.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.