Swedbank AB Invests $26.99 Million in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 68,659 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $26,985,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $460.59 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $298.86 and a one year high of $462.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $427.30 and its 200 day moving average is $401.92. The firm has a market cap of $83.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.28, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.28.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, insider Richard G. Steele 1,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $448.50.

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.