International Assets Investment Management LLC Purchases 266 Shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 24.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,214,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake 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 worth $31,981,000 after acquiring an additional 4,544 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $470,712,000 after acquiring an additional 31,780 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Moody’s in the first quarter valued at $664,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,244 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,511,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Moody’s Trading Down 1.5%

Moody’s stock opened at $481.51 on Thursday. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The company has a market capitalization of $86.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $469.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $472.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 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 Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 32.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on MCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target for the company. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Moody’s from $489.00 to $523.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on 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 given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.