US Bancorp DE Has $11.87 Million Stock Holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE has increased its holdings in Moody's Corporation by 15.2%, owning 25,477 shares valued at approximately $11.87 million.
• Moody's recently reported earnings of $3.56 per share for the quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 4.5% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for Moody's, with JPMorgan increasing its target from $495 to $565 and giving the stock an "overweight" rating.

US Bancorp DE grew its position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 15.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 25,477 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,356 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Moody's were worth $11,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Moody's during the 1st quarter worth $49,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 132.6% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Motco lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 581.3% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 109 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total value of $208,911.00. Following the sale, 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 the SEC website. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total transaction of $1,893,114.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at $4,195,619.90. This trade represents a 31.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,593 shares of company stock worth $4,382,984. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $538.80.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of Moody's stock traded down $3.98 during trading on Thursday, reaching $513.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 249,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 803,144. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $494.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $478.13. 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 capitalization of $91.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.40. Moody's Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.73% and a net margin of 29.18%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

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.