Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 59,238 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 74.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 138,472 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,238 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.08% of Moody’s worth $64,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $988,750,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 55,808.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 802,850 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $373,879,000 after buying an additional 801,414 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 92,060.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 612,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $290,112,000 after buying an additional 612,200 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its position in Moody’s by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $534,255,000 after acquiring an additional 479,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $150,376,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $483.84 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $87.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.93, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $458.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $473.76. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $519.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by 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.