602 Shares in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Purchased by Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C.

Key Points

• Prescott Group Capital Management made a new investment of $280,000 in Moody's Corporation, purchasing 602 shares during the first quarter.
• Institutional ownership of Moody's is high, with approximately 92.11% of the stock owned by institutional investors, including a significant new position from Norges Bank valued at about $988.75 million.
• Moody's recently reported earnings that exceeded expectations, with an EPS of $3.56 for the quarter and a revenue of $1.90 billion, indicating growth of 4.5% year-over-year.

Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 602 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Moody's in the 4th quarter worth about $988,750,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 55,808.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Moody's by 20.5% in 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 142.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 16.1% in 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 in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $4.75 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $512.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 335,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 795,448. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $489.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $476.09. The company has a market capitalization of $92.15 billion, a PE ratio of 43.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93.

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

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total transaction of $208,911.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MCO. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $538.80.

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.