Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Shares Acquired by Clarius Group LLC

Clarius Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 13.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $470.64 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $464.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $472.90. The company has a market capitalization of $84.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.39. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93. 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) 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.15% and a return on equity of 60.37%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Moody’s from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $519.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $27,445,682. This 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 available through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Company 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.