Seilern Investment Management Ltd Has $8.39 Million Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Seilern Investment Management Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 19.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,019 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,249 shares during the quarter. Moody’s makes up about 0.5% of Seilern Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Seilern Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $8,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Moody’s by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 67,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,981,000 after purchasing an additional 4,544 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in Moody’s by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 18,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 994,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $470,712,000 after purchasing an additional 31,780 shares during the period. Finally, AMJ Financial Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at $312,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $489.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $87.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.39, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $455.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $473.61. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 32.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MCO. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Moody’s from $489.00 to $523.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Moody’s from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities 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 MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $519.40.

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.