UMB Bank n.a. Has $4.13 Million Stock Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 293.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,864 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,611 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $4,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Moody's by 80.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Moody's in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $519.40.

Moody's Price Performance

NYSE:MCO traded down $3.23 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $485.72. 485,067 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 763,074. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $455.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $473.58. The company has a market capitalization of $87.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.39. Moody's Co. has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

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.