Tributary Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Tributary Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 915 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.6% during 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 during the period. Carson Advisory Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Moody’s from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $523.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One equities research 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 MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $519.07.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $502.87 on Friday. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $486.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $474.31. The company has a market capitalization of $90.47 billion, a PE ratio of 43.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued 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. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.15% and a return on equity of 60.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given 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 0.75%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total transaction of $208,911.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,153,412.40. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.