Yousif Capital Management LLC Has $8.70 Million Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,676 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 211 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $8,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO opened at $485.16 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $456.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $473.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market cap of $87.28 billion, a PE ratio of 43.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.39. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 32.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Moody’s from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Moody’s from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $519.40.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,445,682. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is 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.