Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Sells 4,700 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lessened its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 60,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,700 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $28,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Norges Bank bought a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at $988,750,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 55,808.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 802,850 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $373,879,000 after acquiring an additional 801,414 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position 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 valued at $290,112,000 after acquiring an additional 612,200 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Moody’s by 73.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at $150,376,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of MCO stock opened at $471.57 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $461.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $473.29. 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 $84.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.84, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.39. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price target on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $489.00 to $523.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.