Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $9.25 Million Stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,138 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $9,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $502.24 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $90.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.37, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $474.70 and its 200-day moving average is $472.19. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 60.37% and a net margin of 29.15%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.94 dividend. 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 0.75%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 32.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCO. Wall Street Zen cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 62,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.