Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 3,747 Shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,351 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,747 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $28,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Moody's by 49.3% during the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Moody's during the 1st quarter worth approximately $469,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Moody's by 84.3% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 223 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Moody's by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,586,672 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $738,897,000 after buying an additional 140,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new position in Moody's during the 1st quarter worth approximately $489,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE MCO traded up $0.55 on Monday, reaching $500.45. The company had a trading volume of 771,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 766,251. The firm has a market cap of $90.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.38. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $486.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $474.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.37% and a net margin of 29.15%. Analysts forecast that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Moody's from $572.00 to $573.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $523.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total transaction of $208,911.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,886 shares in the company, valued at $31,153,412.40. The trade was a 0.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.