Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB trimmed its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 117 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $5,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Moody’s by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 67,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,981,000 after purchasing an additional 4,544 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Moody’s by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 994,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $470,712,000 after purchasing an additional 31,780 shares during the last quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $312,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $281,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $485.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $455.73 and its 200 day moving average is $473.61. The firm has a market cap of $87.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.39.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. As a group, research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Moody’s from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $519.40.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,824 shares in the company, valued at $29,092,537.92. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.