TD Asset Management Inc Grows Holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc has increased its stake in Moody's Corporation by 8.5%, now owning approximately 658,443 shares valued at $306.63 million.
• Moody's reported a net margin of 29.18% along with a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.56, exceeding analyst expectations.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94, with a scheduled payment date of September 5th, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.73%.

TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 658,443 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 51,732 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc owned 0.37% of Moody's worth $306,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Moody's by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,715,000 after purchasing an additional 10,350 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Moody's by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 113,273 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,620,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP increased its position in Moody's by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 111,211 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $52,644,000 after acquiring an additional 12,019 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Moody's by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 253,886 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $121,649,000 after acquiring an additional 20,463 shares during the period. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in Moody's by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 8,685 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,398 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of MCO traded up $6.93 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $517.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 379,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 796,581. The company's fifty day moving average price is $489.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $476.33. Moody's Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $93.09 billion, a PE ratio of 44.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.38.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.28 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $538.80.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total transaction of $208,911.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,153,412.40. This represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.