Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 11.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 662,844 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 82,451 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.37% of Moody's worth $308,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in Moody's by 1,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 55 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Moody's during the first quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Moody's by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Trading Up 1.5%

Moody's stock traded up $7.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $504.42. The company had a trading volume of 485,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 765,939. The stock has a market cap of $90.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Moody's Corporation has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $477.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $472.47.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The company 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Moody's from $523.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays cut their target price on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Moody's from $572.00 to $573.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective for the company. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $521.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

About Moody's

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.