Ritholtz Wealth Management Raises Holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 21.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,452 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $66,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $73,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.2%

Moody’s stock opened at $471.00 on Wednesday. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $84.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $463.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $472.92.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.47%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. The trade was 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 accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MCO. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Moody’s from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Moody’s from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Moody’s from $489.00 to $523.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Moody’s in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $530.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Moody’s from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.40.

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.