Van Strum & Towne Inc. Buys 2,133 Shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Van Strum & Towne Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 44.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,883 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,133 shares during the quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $3,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in Moody's by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,001 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Moody's by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 639 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Moody's by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in Moody's by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 12,033 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,604,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. Finally, Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. boosted its stake in Moody's by 125.9% in the 1st quarter. Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. now owns 6,055 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,375 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:MCO traded up $2.53 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $502.43. 20,976 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 763,338. The firm's fifty day moving average is $486.91 and its 200-day moving average is $474.51. Moody's Corporation has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.37% and a net margin of 29.15%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Moody's's payout ratio is 32.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody's 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 $31,153,412.40. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MCO. Bank of America started coverage on Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Moody's from $445.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Moody's from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Moody's from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $523.73.

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.

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