Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Has $16.57 Million Stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB increased its holdings in Moody's Corporation by 4.3%, acquiring an additional 1,471 shares, bringing its total to 35,386 shares worth approximately $16.57 million.
• Moody's reported strong quarterly earnings of $3.56 per share, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $1.90 billion, marking a 4.5% year-on-year increase.
• The company is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.94 on September 5th, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.73% and a payout ratio of 32.47%.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,386 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,471 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Moody's were worth $16,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 1,000.0% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 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 valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Moody's during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total transaction of $208,911.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,153,412.40. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MCO. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Mizuho increased their target price on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. 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 target price for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $538.80.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of MCO traded up $7.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $518.04. The company had a trading volume of 313,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 796,257. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company's 50-day moving average is $489.81 and its 200-day moving average is $476.33. The company has a market capitalization of $93.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.38.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.28 EPS. Moody's's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current 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 issued 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 yield of 0.73%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is 31.95%.

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.