Public Sector Pension Investment Board Acquires 968 Shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 2.4%, acquiring an additional 968 shares to bring its total ownership to 41,422 shares valued at $19.29 million.
• Moody's reported a $3.56 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing expectations and indicating a 4.5% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company plans to pay a dividend of $0.94 per share on September 5th, with a current annual yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 31.95%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,422 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 968 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Moody's were worth $19,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 2.1% during the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 5.8% during the first quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 477 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 5.7% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 482 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Price Performance

MCO opened at $512.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.50, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $496.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $478.68. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. The firm 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 revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.28 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CFO Noemie Clemence Heuland sold 897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.24, for a total value of $455,891.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,091,699.52. This trade represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total transaction of $741,365.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $705,238.38. The trade was a 51.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,593 shares of company stock valued at $4,382,984 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MCO. Mizuho raised 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, July 25th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $538.80.

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.

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