Moody’s Corporation $MCO Holdings Decreased by Triple Frond Partners LLC

Triple Frond Partners LLC cut its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 22.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 22,960 shares during the quarter. Moody’s makes up about 5.1% of Triple Frond Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Triple Frond Partners LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $38,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Moody’s by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,715,000 after purchasing an additional 10,350 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $442,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Moody’s by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 722 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,124,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total transaction of $741,365.31. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,238.38. This trade represents a 51.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael L. West sold 3,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.10, for a total transaction of $1,893,114.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,195,619.90. The trade was a 31.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,008 shares of company stock worth $4,599,385. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MCO shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $538.80.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $509.18 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $499.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $479.43. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.14 billion, a PE ratio of 43.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 31.95%.

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.