Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Acquires 795 Shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 50.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake 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. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired 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.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:MCO opened at $470.64 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.67 billion, a PE ratio of 40.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $464.28 and its 200 day moving average is $472.90. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,092,537.92. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Moody’s from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price target on Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 target price on the stock. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $519.40.

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.