R Squared Ltd Acquires 1,150 Shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Key Points

• R Squared Ltd increased its holdings in Moody's Corporation by 205.4%, acquiring an additional 1,150 shares for a total of 1,710 shares, valued at approximately $796,000.
• Moody's recently reported $3.56 EPS for its latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.39 EPS and achieving 4.5% revenue growth year over year.
• The company declared a $0.94 quarterly dividend, with an annual yield of 0.8% and an ex-dividend date set for August 15th.

R Squared Ltd raised its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 205.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,710 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the quarter. Moody's accounts for approximately 0.9% of R Squared Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. R Squared Ltd's holdings in Moody's were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew 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 valued at $841,050,000 after purchasing an additional 302,453 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew 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 valued at $752,980,000 after purchasing an additional 220,681 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,586,672 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $738,897,000 after purchasing an additional 140,128 shares during the period. Valley Forge Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley Forge Capital Management LP now owns 1,314,144 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $622,076,000 after purchasing an additional 25,700 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 1,086,565 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $506,002,000 after purchasing an additional 3,475 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $538.80.

Moody's Stock Down 2.8%

NYSE MCO opened at $501.30 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $492.11 and its 200 day moving average is $477.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Moody's Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The stock has a market cap of $89.73 billion, a PE ratio of 42.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.38.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%. The company 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 firm earned $3.28 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total transaction of $1,083,701.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,841,138.44. This represents a 27.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the company'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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,238.38. The trade was a 51.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,593 shares of company stock valued at $4,382,984 in the last three months. Corporate 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MCO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.